The superb Queen Mary at Long Beach California

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With Reuben Goossens

Maritime Historian, Author, Maritime Lecturer

And Cruise‘n’Ship Reviewer

Presenting

The Queen Mary

Once the Great Dame of the Atlantic, but Today a Grand Luxury Hotel!

Introduction:

That Grand Dame once the great Trans-Atlantic Liner the RMS Queen Mary is now permanently berthed at Long Beach California in the United States of America and she is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. There is no doubt that this great ship remains one of the most famous liners in history.

Today, The Queen Mary remains a grand floating city and she is awash with sheer elegance and she has every facility and the perfect Stateroom, or a superb suite awaiting those who have that desire to relive those wonderful and romantic days of Grand Ocean Liner travel, whilst visiting delightful Long Beach!

This page essentially features many photographs of the ship and her facilities as she is now, and I am sure that you will be more than impressed with her as she is today! In recent times she has received massive restorations after past rather poor management and the ship falling into bad repair, but now with her being in new hands, she is like new and working superbly! Therefore, I highly recommend visiting Long Beach and spending some time on one of the great old liners in living memory!

Remembering the RMS Queen Mary:

The great ship was built at the John Brown shipyards at Clydebank, Scotland and was known as simply as hull number 534. It was on September 26, 1934, the Queen Mary was launched in the presence of His Majesty, King George V and his consort Queen Mary.

Having been completed, having had her trails and delivered, the RMS Queen Mary departed Southampton on her historic maiden voyage to New York on Wednesday 27 May 1936.

RMS Queen Mary seen during her maiden voyage

Photograph from the Author’s private collection

She departed fully laden as bookings had been sold out long in advance. Apparently the passenger list read like a page from the “Who’s Who.” First class passengers included knights, ladies, dignitaries, and various famous artists. During her maiden voyage there were even two stowaways found aboard, they were retrained and returned to Southampton to face justice, but at least they sailed on the great Queen Mary! Later that same year in August the RMS Queen Mary captured the Blue Riband, however, she lost the title to SS Normandie in 1937, but she regained it again in 1938 and held it (eastward) until 1952 when the SS United States gained it and has retained it!

The HMTS Queen Mary is seen here arriving in New York in 1945

Photograph from the Author’s private collection

The Queen Mary served proudly during World War II and she was dubbed as the “Grey Ghost” by the Australian’s a named she carried worldwide throughout the war! She finally returned to regular Trans Atlantic duties having had a refit in July 1947 and she sailed on proudly as a liner and later as a cruise ship!

The graceful RMS Queen Mary is seen here towards the end of her days at Southampton in the mid sixties

Photograph from the Author’s private collection

In the 1960s she was very popular as a cruise ship and she would mostly operate these during the northern winter and head for the Caribbean, Panama Canal and Mexico. She operated her very last cruise however in mid 1967, just before she was sold to her new owners in Long Beach.

The Queen Mary arrives in Acapulco on June 12. 1967 during her very last official round cruise

For the next one would be a special 40-day one-way cruise from Southampton to Long Beach!

Photographer unknown, please see photo notes at bottom of page!

It would be in 1967 she departed Southampton for the final time as she departed Southampton on October 31, 1967 being just over 31 years after having departed the UK for the first time, but this time it would be the last, as she headed off on a one way cruise to Long Beach California arriving on December 9, forty days after departure. This would be her new permanent home and she was enclosed in hew own basin of water. The now glamorous “The Queen Mary” Hotel has had a number of major refits and many of her original pieces of original ornate décor was completely restored to their original beauty, and the ship has been meticulously maintained!

The Queen Mary at Long Beach:

I will commence with The Queen Mary’s countless excellent features, for she has many; I will look at her popular Bar’s and the spectacular and varied dinning venues that range from a light meal, such as a snack to something grand. But whatever you choose, be assured The Queen Mary has the perfect Café, Restaurant or Tea Room for you!

The second part will cover the accommodations and the last part we will have a look behind the scenes!

But Let us commence with you boarding the ship!

PLEASE NOTE: All photographs below have been kindly provided by The Queen Mary Hotel and I am most grateful to them for the excellent photographs that they have made available to us!

The Queen Mary Hotel the most amazing hotel on earth!

You will enter at the Main Lobby and check in at the Front Desk

Spend time in this superb bar, where Royalty, stars and the super rich have had their champagne and martinis

during their Atlantic voyages, thus relive the grand old days in luxury in this beautiful venue with a view!

Why not visit the popular Tea Room for some special delights!

This Grande Old Dame has so many choices, and Chelsea’s Chowder House, I am told is a must!

Light dinning can be had at the Promenade Café

The Grand Salon was once the Cabin Class Main Lounge (looking forward)

It serves as a dining venue, but also for other needs as required

What about having Sunday Bruch in the Grand Salon? It looks simply delicious!

This is the excellent and casual Veranda Grill, a room with a view and an alfresco dining area

This is the Veranda Deck, ideal to dine or just for a drink!

Above & below: For elegant dining why not visit Sir Winston’s

After a good meal, why not have a stroll along Boat Deck

Accommodations

The Queen Mary has some of the finest completely refurbished original Staterooms, Mini Suites some with their own separate private lounge and Deluxe Suites that are the ultimate in luxury, offering large lounges and bedrooms with bathrooms that have the very best of everything! However, all bathrooms are supplied with the finest toiletries and luxury towels, etc, thus no matter where you are you will be assured that you will live like Royalty on this great Queen. I gave not as yet mentioned the Standard Staterooms and the delightful Family Stateroom, which are mostly new, but they all have original brass porthole fittings, but as you will see these rooms are lighter and more modern. Whilst the traditions Staterooms and Suites all have that luxuriant original timber cladding on their walls!

This is a typical hallway to stateroom on board the Queen Mary

Here we see the “Queen Elizabeth Suite” Lounge – this suite occupy’s staterooms Main Deck 108 & 110

“Queen Elizabeth Suite” spacious Bedroom with a king sized bed

Here we see one of the Mini Suites on Main Deck 018

This is a Mini Suite located on B Deck 424

This is a typical Bathroom for most of the Staterooms on board

A Deluxe Stateroom on Main Deck 125

Another Deluxe Stateroom on Main Deck 139

A Standard Stateroom on Main Deck 138

Here we see one of the Standard Family Staterooms on A Deck 180

Some have an adjoining cabin with a single or two beds

Behind the Scenes

We have seen a great deal of this superbly beautiful ex Atlantic liner that has become such a grand hotel, but it still retains so much of it wonderful original maritime heritage that is to be explored whilst you are on board this fine ship, thus I highly recommend you spend at least a week on The Queen Mary!

The photographs that follow will reveal a mixture of her fine maritime heritage, as well as some great pieces of photographic pieced of memorabilia, featuring Royalty, Statesmen, famous movie and singing stars and others. I am sure that you will enjoy this part of the feature!

Well I trust that you are well and truly settled in on board The Queen Mary

Let us now go and take a look at some of the interesting parts of the ship!

What a fine view from her prow (bow) looking towards her superstructure with her Bridge set high above and those stately funnel!

Solid steel anchor chains

Here we see one of the guns that were fitted during WW2

Now this is what I call a Bridge, it is sheer beauty, although I am aware that it would not be up to today’s standards

However, she sailed the globe during the war years and did rather well thank you with huge numbers on board!

These are some of the two of the finest examples of brass steering wheels left in the world today!

There were no phones down to the engine room in the early days, just speak into the correct cone!

Not having modern technology, it was all left up to these charts and gauges

This is the Captain’s Dayroom, where he would hold officers and staff meetings and rest when he could

Here he would also entertain some of the VIP guests occasionally!

The Captain would sit here and he would log his voyage

Down in the Engine Room we find the command telegraph that tells the engineer what to do, as well as additional wheels

Here we see the main control panel

This is the heart of the ship

Here we see Queen Mary’s boilers

Now Let’s Head Down Memory Lane!

Bob Hope and these other stars were onboard during the Queen Mary’s very last passenger voyage before the start of WW2

Prime Minister Winston Churchill in his headquarters at sea during WW2

On July 9, 1948, Clark Gable delayed departure of the Queen Mary by 18 minutes

because he had to said goodbye to his love interest at the time

Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh enjoying their first class dinner

The Queen Mother had been on a visit to the America and sailed home aboard RMS Queen Mary from November 18th to the 23rd, 1954

David Niven does a traditional Scottish Jig on the Deck of the Queen Mary as he is ready to set sail

The wonderful singing Quartet “Deep River Boys” are seen on board with the Captain. Note the word “DEEPS” on their ties

Thank you Austin Casey for your assistance

Hotel Queen Mary is seen at Long Beach in her specially created basin

Photographer unknown - please see the photo notes at the bottom of the page

I highly recommend that you visit The Queen Mary Site

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