One of the things we did while in Orlando was visit a Titanic "experience". It was billed as having lots of genuine items from Titanic, and you could also "experience" an iceberg so it sounded interesting, and it certainly lived up to expectations.
Queensland, now called Cobh (pronounce cove) in Cork, Ireland was the last port of call of the Titanic, and one of my ancestors was supposed to go on her, but something happened at the last minute, and she, fortunately, didn't go. So I have a personal interest in all things Titanic. Also, she hit the iceberg on 14th April, my eldest daughter's birthdate.
The exhibition was very good, actors brought the group around part of it, as though we were passengers on the ship. We got a real feel of the luxury in which these people lived -the 1st and 2nd classes. We were not, thankfully, treated to the steerage class experience.
They also had an iceberg that we could touch to "experience" just how cold that is, and the water was even colder. It must have been terrifying for everybody on board, but 2 things stay with me from the exhibition- only 1 lifeboat came back to look for survivors, and one person who survived did so by consuming large amounts of alcohol as soon as he realised that the ship would sink; this acted as anti-freeze in his body. I'd like to think that if I had been on a lifeboat, I would have persuaded the other occupants to turn back, but which of us knows what we'd do ?
