Day 8 - The Queen Mary

This post actually begins at the end of Day 7 when we arrived and checked in at the Queen Mary [now a hotel], but I wanted to keep all the photos of the transatlantic ocean liner in one post.

I have wanted to visit the R.M.S. Queen Mary for a long time, so I was happy we were able to work it into this trip.

She sailed across the North Atlantic during the Golden Age of Ocean Travel [both in war and peace time], and is an icon of the past.  She has been moored in a lagoon at Pier J in Long Beach, CA for 52 years, with a view of the Pacific Ocean in the distance. She is the most famous ocean liner in the world.  Her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York was made in May 1936, and her final year in service was 1967.  During her 31 years of service she completed 1,001 Atlantic crossings.

Reception and Check-in Desk

The ship was named for Mary of Teck, Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Empress of India as the wife of King George V.   [The grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II.]  It's said Cunard's Board of Directors had decided to name the ship the Queen Victoria.  Following protocol, they went to King George to ask his blessing of the ship's proposed name saying, "We have decided to name our new ship after England's greatest Queen,", meaning Queen Victoria, the King's Grandmother.  He replied, "My wife [Queen Mary] will be delighted that you are naming the ship after her."  FYI - Cunard currently has a Queen Victoria cruise liner that made its maiden voyage in 2007.  It isn't a mail carrier so it doesn't have the R.M.S. status.

The hotel features 314 original guest rooms - 305 staterooms and 9 full suites. The wood paneling and Art Deco design are original. Below is the hallway to our room which was A118.

Inside our room.

~ Bathroom ~

We were too excited to stay in our cabin, so we meandered around looking at the display cases and doing a little shopping in the gift shops on the Promenade Deck. 

 Below is a picture of Queen Mary as well as a large embossed profile medallion of her.

My purchases included two books, and a replica tea service dessert plate and teacup used for first class passengers.

We went on the deck to take a photo at dusk before going to our room for the night.

The next morning we got up and had breakfast in the Promenade Café.

~ Jerry ~

We got the breakfast buffet.

I always wanted to have Afternoon Tea on the Queen Mary, but discovered when the Princess Diana exhibit ended in January of this year, so did their Afternoon Tea service. This was as close as I could come to tea time on the Queen Mary.

A Teavana tea bag of Royal English Breakfast.  As far as I know there are no plans to bring back their Afternoon Tea service.

I took a picture of a photo they had on display of Afternoon Tea when the ship was still in service.

They have guided tours of the ship, but Jerry and I opted to see it on our own.

~ The Sun Deck and Gazebo ~

Notice the lifeboat at the right.  The Queen Mary was the first to have motorized lifeboats.

Jerry is a fan of Winston Churchill so I had to get his picture by the entrance to Sir Winston's 5-Star Dining Room on the Queen Mary.  Winston Churchill and his wife, Clementine, traveled on the Queen Mary several times.

Then we went up to the sport's deck where they played shuffleboard.

And all the way to the top where the Communications Exhibit, Bridge and Wheelhouse are located.

Photo of the Queen Mum when she traveled on the Queen Mary.

~ And Audrey Hepburn ~

Tile mosaic of the Queen Mary in the floor.

Construction of the ship began in 1930 in Clydesbank, Scotland and took seven years to complete. It carried some 2.2 million passengers in peace time and 750,000 military Personnel in WWII.

After we checked out I couldn't resist taking a few more pics of the ship.  It was SO worth visiting and spending a night on.

~ Front / Bow ~

~ Mid-section ~

Looking back to the stern.

From Long Beach we headed off to Los Angeles.  Next post...