Over the last ten years, we’ve walked through hundreds upon hundreds of scare mazes across countless scare events. But never has this hobby taken us on board an abandoned ocean liner… until now.

Escape Alive: Shipwrecked Survivors is an immersive theatrical horror experience and scare maze that takes place on the abandoned Duke of Lancaster ship in Holywell, North Wales. Landlocked and left to decay since the 1970s, this majestic yet haunting ocean liner has long fascinated explorers and photographers alike. Now, thanks to the creative minds at We Are Escape, the ship has been reborn into one of the most unique and atmospheric scare attractions we’ve ever experienced.

First Impressions

As you approach the site, the first thing you see is the decaying ocean liner lit beautifully in the distance, smoke billowing eerily from its side. It’s a breathtaking and surreal sight that immediately sets the tone for what’s to come.

On arrival, you’ll find a compact event space offering food vendors, bars, marshmallow-roasting stations, and even a pop-up movie theatre. A few attractions listed on the map such as The Carnival, The Cursed Voyage, and Storm Deck were unfortunately unavailable during our visit. The organisers confirmed that The Carnival was delayed due to external issues, but the fate of the other two remains unclear. Still, the main event more than made up for it.

The Duke of the Drowned

The centrepiece of the evening was The Duke of the Drowned, a 30-minute walkthrough of the ship itself. The setting alone is extraordinary, guests weave through narrow corridors, crumbling mess halls, and eerie lounges, all steeped in 50 years of decay.

Add to that immersive audio design, cinematic lighting, and dense atmospheric effects, and you’ve got one of the most visually striking environments we’ve ever seen. The set dressing and SFX props throughout the ship were of outstanding quality, from blood-stained morgue scenes to rotting corpses hidden under surgical sheets, every space felt alive with grim detail.

The costume and character design deserves huge praise too. Rather than relying on face paint, each actor wore bespoke prosthetics and intricately designed costumes, giving every character a unique and terrifying identity.

Scares, Storytelling, and Atmosphere

What makes this experience truly shine is its tone. Rather than relying on relentless jump scares, Shipwrecked Survivors leans into the sinister stillness of a haunted ship, the creaks, the silence, the subtle movements in the dark and the tap tap tap of metal as you walked through the halls was extremely unsettling.

Each section tells its own story, all tied together through a larger narrative that makes this feel more like an interactive horror performance than a typical scare maze. It’s clever, layered, atmospheric and at times, genuinely breathtaking.

Final Thoughts

The Duke of Lancaster provides such a powerful and haunting backdrop that it’s impossible not to be captivated. The ship itself feels like a character, one that lingers in your mind long after you leave.

We left utterly fascinated, not only by the event but by the ship itself. It’s sparked a real desire to explore more abandoned or historic settings used for immersive horror experiences.

If you get the chance, we highly recommend Escape Alive: Shipwrecked Survivors. It’s unlike anything we’ve ever done before, eerie and cinematic, it really is beautifully crafted.

Want to see more? Watch our full vlog of the event as we explore the inside of this incredible abandoned ocean liner and face the horrors that await aboard The Duke of the Drowned.

Update – For full transparency, we have had a number of people contact us to let us know that even nearly 2 week after opening, that over 50% of the advertised features of this event are still not available. Original advertising included two other experiences ‘The Cursed Voyage’ and ‘stormdeck’, as well as a Tarot Reader ‘The Wave Whisperer’, a selection of merchendise stalls ‘The Harbour Market’ and a kids play area ‘X Marks The Rot’ all not being available. The events website has now been updated to not include any of these things and so the assumption is that they will never arrive at the event.

Whilst we personally had a fantastic time on board the ship, advertising one event, and provided something completely different to what was advertised is not only disengenouous, but also against ASA regulations. We understand that issues may have happened in the meantime, but the least we would expect is that anyone who purchased their tickets before the website/advertising changed, should receive a 50% discount if they have already attended, or have the option for a refund if they have not yet attended.