Impending doom and fun for the whole family
Have you ever wished you could turn back time and live through the day the Titanic struck an iceberg, causing a tragedy that claimed the lives of over a thousand people?
No? Me neither. However, it didn’t stop me from visiting the Titanic Immersive Voyage at Place Bonaventure. This experience puts you in the shoes of a passenger of the Titanic and portrays what it would have been like to travel on the famous ship. When I first heard about this, I was intrigued, mainly by the immersive aspect. Were they going to drop us in the middle of the Atlantic? Submerge us in a tub of freezing water? While neither of those things happened, the actual experience blew me away. The simulated voyage includes recreations of parts of the ship, including the bow where Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio stood in the famous shot from the 1997 film inspired by the ship. Visitors are free to pose and take pictures on the front of the boat, as well as in other recreations of the massive ship, such as a large staircase also shown in the film.
I think all of us remember how we learned about the Titanic for the first time, whether it was from a history book, the film, or — in my case — the Dear Canada book That Fatal Night: The Titanic Diary of Dorothy Wilson. The story of the tragic incident is embedded in our culture and is one that will never be forgotten. This Immersive Voyage not only allows people to gain insight into this tragically short journey, but also preserves the memory of those who were lost to the ultimate sinking of the ship.
Before my visit, my knowledge of the Titanic was limited and mostly came from the movie — which isn’t the best source for historical information. However, I learned a lot during the immersive experience, and would therefore recommend it to anyone regardless of their confidence in their vast knowledge of the Titanic. Plaques on the walls described the process of building the Titanic, alongside official blueprints and floor plans. If the structure of the ship isn’t your main interest, you would also get the chance to learn about daily life aboard the ship, detailing how the passengers spent their time. I got the chance to learn about the dinners held each night in the lavish dining rooms, which could fit hundreds of people at once. The voyage is a museum of sorts, with artifacts from the Titanic found in every room. One that stood out to me was a window retrieved from the ship, with some of its panes either broken or missing. It was fascinating to see something that not only came from the ship, but also survived the wreck and recovered.
The entire experience culminates in a room meant to resemble the ocean on that tragic night when the Titanic sank. Projections on the floor simulated the movement of waves, while the main screen depicted the Titanic slowly sinking. The center of the room bore a life-sized replica of a lifeboat with benches where attendees could sit, creating the impression that they were passengers watching the ship go down. In my opinion, this room was the highlight of the experience. The screen displayed distress messages sent from the Titanic to nearby ships, with the only sound heard in the room being a bell ringing non-stop, creating a tense atmosphere fraught with fear and imminent danger.
What makes this experience even more interesting is the knowledge of how it all ends. As I moved through the connected rooms and read about the famous ship, all I could think about was when and how everything went wrong. The fatal collision was in the back of my mind the entire time, making the experience more solemn.The immersive aspect of the voyage was, in my view, very well done. The recreations of rooms, as well as real artifacts from the real Titanic made me feel like I was actually walking through the ship, while the information on the walls helped me imagine what it would be like to spend a day there. The interactive activities drew me into the experience and made me forget that I wasn’t actually travelling on the Titanic.
If this informative and somewhat haunting experience isn’t enough for you, there is also a gift shop at the end. From replicas of the heart of the ocean to ice cube trays shaped like the ship, any Titanic merchandise you could ever want can be found here. Personally, I bought a rubber duck in a captain’s uniform, and still believe that the purchase was more than worth it. No matter how somber the experience is at times, it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that anyone, from children to adults, can enjoy.