SS Great Britain: Visualising Voices Reviews

Amazing surviving ship from "the golden area" of Victorian Britain. The restored SS Great Britain has to be one of the most impressive museum ships in the world. The first ocean liner certainly has character and to be fully immersed in the exhibit, it really is a 4D experience. The sights, sounds and smells of the glory days of the ship have been faithfully re-created and the result is highly impressive. Its tempting to compare this ship with the most well know maritime giant, Titanic and in doing so, this vessel is, of course in a lesser league but she is still very impressive.

For those more interested in the human side of this vessels history and its impact, they will find plenty of interesting relics, mostly from the Australian steam clipper era. On my visits though, it seems like many Americans have come here, having traced their history back to an ancestor travelling on this vessel, serving on the Atlantic route in the 1840s and 1850s.

Car Parking is expensive but one can receive a deduction from the exhibit.

Amazing place to visit. We have been twice in the last few months as the tickets last for a year. Best historical attraction I have been to. The attention to detail is great.

Far to expensive for what it is. Don't get me wrong its a nice ship just too expensive to look around it. I wouldn't recommend unless your very rich... Parking is steep too.

Nice museum, inside one of the most important ships of its time.

Loved it. Staff friendly and very helpful. Lots of things to see and do. I loved the fact that every now and again if u touched something or passed something it would start talking as if u were part of the ship's company. Even has different smells for different places. Some good some not so. But all in keeping with the ship. I did the gold rush talk which was really interesting and informative. I spent a good 3 hours there. And ticket is valid for a whole year.

Great attraction supported by friendly helpful staff. Interesting look back in time. This attraction is wheelchair accessible with most areas, and certainly the important ones, being accessible.

The entrance includes a visit to the boat inside and outside and to the adjoining museum, also to the exterior stages, the entrance is valid for a whole year and is a copy of the original passage. The boat is docked and below it is covered so you can walk, it's really interesting.

Wonderful experience. Even 4 hours was not enough to explore :)

Hi what a great few hours spent on a lovely old ship old being the word, had never heard of it before today but can say well worth a visit or 2 what great work has been carried out on this old lady well done folk keep up the great work

Historically important but open on selected days. Check before planning a visit.

Came here 40 years ago - 6 years after the return of the SS Great Britain - it was just a hulk. Now you can really sense the history of this great engineering feat. Brunel was a genius. Well worth 3 hours of anyone's time. Absolutely amazing to see it so lovingly restored. The effort that has gone in to create a sealed environment to preserve it is incredible. Awesome.

The Ship SS Great Britain is a great ship to look at and history about too

A great visit. Curious story about "the greatest invention since creation". With varied animation for the little ones and interesting details for the more sailors.

Beautiful experience on this ship reconstruction made on the original hull of the first largest iron ship in history. Very detailed everything helps you relive the magic of those moments of life in which to go to America or Australia could be very risky. Apart from the high cost everything perfect

It's a totally different experience from everything I've seen before

Very interesting. Development of shipping well understood.

Amazing place to visit. Very fair price. Amazing piece of history interesting for the whole family. They have the rooms set up with wax models and all the rooms have unique smells to bring it to life of how it used to be. Return tickets through the year are included. Parking is fairly easy. Lifts throughout. They even do weddings.

The ship itself is a perfect mix of original in poor condition and restored showing its heyday. The guides are friendly and informative. The museum is so extensive it needs plenty of time or another visit. As ever going on a quiet day made for a better experience. Highly recommended.

A great day out for all the family. The boat itself is impressive to look at but once you enter the lower decks it's astounding. The museum is very informative, will be returning again soon no doubt.

One of the best museums I have ever visited!
Worth every penny!

Excellent had a marvellous time well worth a visit x

DISAPPOINTING ATTITUDES
Date of visit: December 2018
The attraction itself is great, very nicely done. However what my 12-year-old daughter had most been looking forward to was the Go Aloft experience where you can climb up the rigging to a viewing deck. This sounded like a lot of fun and I had planned to do it with her. We were early and were told this part of the attraction opened at midday. Having been round the rest of the ship, we waited an extra half an hour in the cafe specifically to be able to 'Go Aloft'. Was about to pay for the tickets when the instructor stepped up to say we would not be able to do it because we wore headscarves. The only explanation was that having something round our necks was a risk as it 'could get caught'. There was no real explanation why this was any different to having on a polo neck. Note that our headscarves are not like long woolly scarves but are firmly secured and do not flap around. Note that a helmet would easily fit over them and that we would have been happy to knot them even more securely if necessary. Note that we have been on a variety of helmet-needing attractions with them on, including climbing the O2, indoor skydiving, the ArcelorMittal Orbit slide; my daughter has also been on a number of adventure holidays including abseiling and climbing Jacob's Ladder (similar to this ship's rigging). Not one of these places had ever mentioned that wearing a headscarf was a safety risk. I waited to speak to the duty manager. The manager spoke with me for a while then went and spoke with the instructor. After this discussion he said that loosening our scarves around our neck might be an option (so that our necks were uncovered) - surely it's more dangerous having a _loosely_ tied scarf?!! I still could not understand why having something securely tied around my neck was any more at risk of 'catching' on the rigging than any other item of clothing. He could not answer this but said he had to defer to the instructor, of course citing Health and Safety. If headscarves have not been an issue for other similar attractions I think there is an error in reasoning here. I suggest SS Great Britain leaves the history below decks and brings their attitudes into the 21st century.

You have to go but give yourself time, at least 3 hours! It's like traveling back in time. Amazing job on the detail of restoration of the ship. Also watch out for the specific scents! Too good to be true!! Well done

A fantastic immersive museum, and an utterly fascinating boat. Loved looking under it, on it and in it. Watch some visitors climb up the rigging.

Great place to visit and so much more to get up to around the harbour in general

Great experience. One of the best places that I have been to that gives you a sense of conditions on the old sea routes in the times of sail and steam

Great experience but a little expensive to get in, saying that we all had a great time

Fabulous place to go visit. So much to see, you can go under, on and inside. There is a museum and inside the ship they have recreated what is was like, virtual rats included. You could spend hours here, kids loved it. Highly recommend.

Loved the dry dock, exploring the ship and learning about its history. Very interesting place to visit. I am not a great fan of museums however this is really well done!

Wonderful experience, very interesting and easily accessible for people with disabilities. Would definitely go again.

See real understanding of the history, is a great learning ..

Had a lovely time on The SS Great Britain, a well thought out set up, the ship has lots to see, and shows how different the passengers in first class were treated to the one's in steerage. The new brunel museum is very good too.

Second time for my kids and me, first time for my husband. We all had fun :)

Brilliant area of ristol to visit suitable for all ages with ss great Britain and nearby underfall yard being well worth a visit for families, singles and couples... Good selection of cafes and restaurants and some pleasant interesting walks to be had... Or take the ferry into Bristol itself....

Fantastic insight into history and the achievements of one man.

Mega place. It's really worth a visit. The smallest details were taken care of.

Fascinating place to visit. Loads of original items to see. Loads of info about the ships life. Particularly liked walking thru the ships crews quarters. So cramped. Felt sick imagining them swaying side to side out at sea. Yuk! Some people were climbing up the mast. That's high. Brave people. Great place to visit and things fir the kids to move and learn from.

Great visit. A fascinating dry dock to showcase conservation and excellent restoration above the water-line

Loved the place and the food. Service is also amazing. Would definitely recommend!

Took Leo to ss great britain he had a fantastic day xx

Brilliant set up, accessible for a buggy (Although old recommend a more off road style buggy for going all the way around the dry dock) and lots for kids to learn.

Excellent experience, so much information and superbly delivered in alot of different ways. Good for all ages. You need a good couple of hours to give it justice. Highly recommend.

The ship was the best experience you could have on a old ship

A great day out. Excellent helpful staff. Presentation at 1200 is very informative without being stuffy.

Fantastic day out Loved every minute
Definite must of you're in Bristol

What insight into such a revolutionary ship. An absolute must for anyone interested in engineering, ships out Victorian pluck and ingenuity. Plenty of information on IK Brunel as well as the mighty ship itself. So much I never knew about it or its recovery.

Visiting this boat is a real journey back in time. The atmosphere there is truly intriguing. Very well done. Thank you and well done!

A worthwhile visit for all ages. Lots to do and see. Tickets valid for 1 year. Can climb the mast for an extra payment.

Really interesting, ship is set up as how it used to look and a separate museum about brunel

Really interesting and a stunning restoration of a milestone ship. Lots to see and good for all ages.

Amazing. They done a brilliant job preserving and displaying this ship, all the props and period characters made it come to life. The Brunel museum was fascinating with so much information and an enjoyable experience. Well done. I would recommend everyone to visit. I will definitely be returning soon.

Fascinating museum, incredible renovation of the ship with fully accessible access. A must see in Bristol

Amazing and informative, a tad costly but understandably so given the sheer size of it

Updated to 5 stars to reflect how brilliant the disabled access is here. My grandmother who needs a walking stick was able to visit all the parts of the ship we were. Excellent attraction.

Expensive to get in, but tickets are valid for 1 year if you are able to return. We made the most of the ticket and tried to fit in all the activities on offer for the kids. We went to the talk by "Brunel" which was great, enthralling and entertained us all. Dressed up in vintage clothes, used the explorers bag to do all the quizzes. My daughter was too young to climb but that was also available for no extra cost for kids

This is significantly improved from the last time I was here, probably 30 years ago!

The ship is magnificent and the history details are excellent. My wife and I really enjoyed it, we can't wait to take our children!

I will only say wonderful superlative. Never seen such a realistic museum. Go there. Even with perfumes, words smell them .....

the only bad experience I had was in the coffee shop outside as you have to wait 20 minutes for a coffee

Absolutely amazing for all ages. We took our daughter in law and two grandchildren, aged 10 and almost 3. We could have spent the whole day. A must for anyone visiting Bristol.

Spent many hours exploring this fascinating ship and her previous guests. A good day out!