The great cruise liner Queen Mary has faced many challenges since her keel was laid in 1930. Now she is part of a new effort to beat an unprecedented enemy as she helps the world get back to business. Here's a little more of her inspiring story.
The ship has been part of southern California's treasures since the city of Long Beach acquired her in 1967. Long Beach then spent several million dollars to prepare her for the waiting public. Her grand California debut was on May 8, 1971.
The Queen Mary is a remarkable floating hotel, complete with 314 comfortable guestrooms and suites - all of which were first-class cabins when the mighty Queen sailed the seven seas.
There are also fine restaurants on board, and a splendid gallery of shops and boutiques. Check with the hotel (562-435-3510) to determine if and when shops and services will be open during the coronavirus pandemic.
During her days on the North Atlantic, passengers enjoyed an indoor swimming pool (below). Today.s shipboard activities include several interesting tours and top-notch museum attractions (unfortunately, at the moment all are temporarily suspended during the pandemic.
Your Journey Begins
Opening the door to a Queen Mary guestroom is like taking a step back in time. Some of the original metal fans that cooled passengers before the advent of air-conditioning are still affixed to cabin bulkheads. The old salt-water bath fixtures are still present and decorate the seafaring bathrooms.
All cabin/guestrooms have been meticulously restored to earlier times, but each has updated curtains, beds, and linens to complement original portholes, light fixtures, and paneling. Some of the interior cabin hardware and wooden furnishings confirm their age - and to nostalgia buffs, that adds to the ambiance. Every piece of furniture has a thousand stories hidden in its historic facing, if only it could talk.
Plan to Return for the Tours and Museums
A walk around the ship is testament that to the fact that the Queen Mary is in effect the world's largest Art Deco museum. Her chambers and passageways are lined with examples of 1930's art and exotic woods - some no longer available on the world market. Best of all, she exudes the unmistakable aura of the historic times in which she lived -- when the abundantly rich and calamitously poor worked together to forge a new world.
The Queen Mary at War
We were fortunate that the Winston Churchill Suite was available for our visit. Sir Winston made three crossings on the Queen during World War II, and a reliable source confirmed that Churchill used his suite's bathtub - partially filled with sand - as a scaled replica to help plan the D-Day landings with members of the Allied staff. To spend time in the very place where such epic discussions took place is a rare honor indeed.
We asked why Churchill did not choose a war ship to cross the Atlantic in those troubled times. "The answer is quite simple. At the time, the Queen Mary was nicknamed "the Gray Ghost" because she was painted completely gray and hard to see, and at 28.5 knots (32.8 mph) she was the fastest ship on the seas. She was so fast that she frequently sailed without an escort and out of convoy."
In general, the Queen played a large part in the outcome of the war, carrying nearly 800,000 troops to the European theater and so demoralized the German high command that Adolf Hitler put a price on her head. He would pay the equivalent of $250,000 and award the Iron Cross to the U-boat captain who could find and sink her. Miraculously, she made 72 wartime crossings without an enemy engagement.
After the War It Was Business as Usual
The Queen Mary was the favorite mode of transportation across the Atlantic for the famous, the rich, and the powerful for 30 years (in addition, in the immediate aftermath, to ferrying European war brides to the US after WWIIm occupying cabins like the one above.. She had three levels of service, i.e., first, second, and third class, each with distinct amenities and separate gathering rooms. First-class passengers were accorded the most space and luxury. The largest room on the was the first-class grand salon, which was three decks high. Ship's passengers enjoyed a variety of shops, a two level indoor swimming pool, salon, nursery, library, kennel, and several outdoor deck sports.
Additional Interesting Facts and Trivia
• The Queen Mary has a 118-foot beam, and that was too wide for the Panama Canal.
• She is 182 feet tall, which is about seven feet higher than Niagara Falls.
• The Queen is almost twice the tonnage and 136 feet longer than the ill-fated Titanic.
• Her full name is RMS Queen Mary - the RMS stands for "Royal Mail Ship."
• In July 1943 she carried 15,740 troops - a standing world record for most passengers on a ship's voyage.
• The headline entertainer on the Queen's final passenger voyage in September 1967 was Johnny Mathis.
• The last Master of the Queen Mary was Captain J. Treasure Jones. He eloquently summed up her existence when he said, "She breathed, she had character, she had personality. She was above all else the closest ship ever to be a living being."
Don't Miss It
When you are ready to travel and are in southern California, be sure to stay at this unique hotel. Who knows what famous person(s) may have slept in that very cabin. Also, there are reputed to be over 600 ghosts that haunt the famous ship. Perhaps one is awaiting your visit.
If You Go
The Queen Mary is located at 1126 Queen's Highway, in Long Beach and the phone number is 562-435-3510. For more information go to www.QueenMary.com.
Happy travels!
The opinions expressed in our articles are the journalists alone and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any entity.
© 2020 Travels with Wayne and Judy
Photos © Judy Bayliff
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