LONG BEACH, Calif. — Having survived a depression, a world war, the pandemic and the threat of sinking, the Queen Mary is back in action in Long Beach. Closed for nearly three years because of COVID, the former grand dame of the high seas reopened for public tours Thursday in a dignitary-studded event befitting a ship with a royal name.
“For those that have had conversations about an early demise for the Queen Mary, we’ve all been very clear that the Queen Mary is not going anywhere and is here to stay,” outgoing Long Beach Mayor, and U.S. Representative-Elect, Robert Garcia said.
Now in her 86th year, the Queen Mary has been a tourist destination for the past 55 years, though it was first built as the world’s largest luxury ocean liner. A marvel of engineering when it was constructed in England during the depression, it first set sail across the Atlantic in 1937, carrying celebrities of the day, including Bob Hope, Fred Astaire, Laurel and Hardy and King Edward VIII of England before being pressed into service shuttling 15,000 American soldiers at a time to and from the European battlefield during WWII.
After 31 years at sea, the Queen Mary was decommissioned and anchored in the Long Beach harbor in 1967, where it’s been one of the city’s main tourist destinations ever since. To step aboard the Queen Mary is to step back in time, when well-heeled visitors dined, drank, smoked, danced and shopped in elegance.
Prior to the pandemic, in 2019, the Queen Mary hosted more than 50 events and attracted 360,000+ people who spent more than $70 million in LA County, according to the Long Beach Economic Development Department. But for all her popularity, the Queen Mary’s age caught up with her in the form of decades of deferred maintenance.
During the time the ship was closed, the city invested millions in critical repairs, removing 100 tons of lifeboats that were deteriorating the ship’s integrity and compromising its ability to stay afloat. A report last year found the Queen Mary was in danger of capsizing. Following an engineering assessment, the Department of Public Works also reinforced the ship’s bulkheads to protect the Queen Mary in case there is flooding.
Making those larger improvements helped the department upgrade the ship’s mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems, Department Director Eric Lopez said Thursday. Over the next few months, his staff will continue to make improvements, with fresh paint and upgrades to the ship’s light fixtures, flooring and railings.
The Queen Mary is reopening in phases, starting with public tours, which sold out shortly after the city of Long Beach announced them earlier this week. The public tours began Thursday and will run through the early part of next year when the Queen Mary will reopen its hotel, restaurants, coffee shops and gift shops.
“Getting her up to speed is not just important for the historical nature of the ship but also for the pride of our city,” Garcia said.
On Thursday, Garcia announced the Queen Mary is now offering memberships. For $150 annually, members will be able to participate in special tours and attractions before they are on sale to the general public. Memberships can be purchased on the Long Beach Heritage website.
“It is the sweetest of times when a dream comes to fruition,” Queen Mary Commodore Everette Hoard said Thursday, before leading a tour through the ship’s opulent observation bar, royal salon, grand ballroom and shopping boutiques. “Dear Mary, the end of your long slumber is at hand. May your glory never fade and your light never dim.”