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Queen Mary
RMS Mary Graces Long Beach Harbor

By Betsy Malloy, About.com Guide

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Queen Mary

Hours: Open daily
Reservations: Not required for general admission but needed for some special activities
Cost: Admission charged until 6:00 p.m. and parking fee
Location: Downtown Long Beach
How Long: Allow a few hours
Best Time to Visit:: Go midday for a tour, or arrive near sunset for a drink in the Observation Bar

Bigger, faster and more powerful than her predecessor the ship Titanic, the RMS Queen Mary lived a long life that included 1,001 successful Atlantic crossings. Built at the John Brown shipyard on the Clyde, Scotland, in 1937, the Queen Mary held the record for the fastest-ever North Atlantic crossing, and for three years she carried the rich and famous across the Atlantic in great luxury. During World War II, she carried troops across the Atlantic and afterward, she ferried war brides and children to the United States and Canada and then returned to service as a transatlantic cruise ship.

In 1967, when Cunard sold the Queen Mary for $3.45 million and she made her 516th and final voyage to Long Beach, California on December 9, 1967. She now Queen Mary rests in the Long Beach harbor, converted into a hotel and tourist attraction. Guides' voices echo in the now-empty engine room, where 27 boilers once generated 160,000 horsepower. She's been in Long Beach longer than she sailed the oceans, and the ship has become an icon for its home city.

Visiting Queen Mary

While not so big and sleek as today's mega-cruise liners, the Queen Mary is an elegant reminder of a bygone era. There are several options for visiting the Queen Mary:

Self-guided Shipwalk tours take visitors over the 1020-footQueen Mary, from the engine room to the wheelhouse.
Daily guided tours explore the glorious past of Queen Mary, from the luxurious dining room to the indoor fresh water swimming pool.
The Ghosts and Legends of the Queen Mary tour dramatizes paranormal and historic events over the last sixty years.
Every Halloween, the Queen Mary is home to Shipwreck an event they bill as a "Terrorfest."

The Scorpion, a Foxtrot-class Russian submarine, is moored just below the Queen Mary's bow. A tour of the cramped quarters and military conditions (78 crew shared 2 showers and 3 toilets) provides an interesting contrast to the Queen Mary's size and luxury.

Hotel Queen Mary

You can sleep in the former staterooms at the Hotel Queen Mary, imagining yourself on a transatlantic journey along with Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable and others. The smaller rooms are reasonably priced, but somewhat dark and cramped. For a taste of the luxury of a bygone era, splurge on a Deluxe Stateroom or a Royalty Suite. And don't be fooled like I was: the fluorescent lights that now seem outdated in the rooms were as modern as could be in the Queen Mary's day.