The Queen Mary Hotel Review: What It’s Really Like to Stay Aboard This Haunted Ship
I recently spent a weekend in Long Beach, California and as someone born and raised in Los Angeles, I was SUPER excited to stay at The Queen Mary. This iconic ocean liner has been docked in Long Beach since 1967 after it had been used to transport passengers across the Atlantic and played a role in World War II.
Now, you can stay there overnight in their staterooms, the very same ones passengers once stayed in.
The ship is full of modern amenities, historic charm, and even a little spooky vibe because it’s said to be one of the most haunted places in the world!
In this detailed Queen Mary hotel review, I’ll share my experience and flesh out exactly what to expect for your stay aboard including if I’d recommend it or not. Plus if I experienced anything…paranormal 👻.
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🐋 Don’t forget to book a whale watching tour
The Historic Significance of the Queen Mary
Before diving into a review, it’s truly important to understand the historical significance of The Queen Mary.
Not only is it fascinating, but it affects your stay and expectations. I don’t want to mislead you into thinking staying aboard The Queen Mary is the same as staying at a 5 star hotel, or even a modern day cruise ship.
Let’s back up though. The Queen Mary was built starting in 1930 and its maiden voyage was in 1936 from Southampton, England to Cherbourg, France to New York City.
While The Queen Mary primarily transported passengers on these mid-Atlantic trips, during World War II, it transformed into a war vessel. All spaces on The Queen Mary were converted to various war-related uses including bunks to transport troops (as many as 15,000 at once).
Winston Churchill often traveled on the vessel because it was the fastest in the world and could outrun every enemy ship. She was painted grey to camouflage on the open water, so they called her The Grey Ghost.
After World War II, she was repainted and the lavish decor and amenities were refitted to once again cater to passengers.
As air travel became more popular and modern vessels outmatched The Queen Mary’s speed, she eventually stopped sailing. The city of Long Beach purchased The Queen Mary and its been docked in the harbor ever since 1967.
Now, it’s a museum with lots of exhibits and tours, and a hotel! So, let’s get into what it’s like to stay aboard.
Where is The Queen Mary?
To get to The Queen Mary, if you’re driving you’ll ultimately want to navigate to the 710-S until S Harbor Scenic Dr, where you’ll run into signs for The Queen Mary.
Long Beach does have an airport (LBG) that you can fly into, as well! Otherwise, the closest airports are John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Santa Ana and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
To get around Long Beach, there’s ample public transit and free rides with Circuit, a local transportation system run via an app.
Parking at The Queen Mary
There is a TON of parking on site, so no stress there. However, it is a bit pricey at a maximum of $32 per night for overnight guests.
If you’re just visiting it’s free for the first 20 minutes, $10 for under 1 hour, and $27 for a visitor maximum.
You can also get discounted parking with restaurant validation, so if you dine aboard, they can validate for you!
Food and Drink Aboard
Speaking of restaurants, here’s everywhere you can dine on board.
First, Promenade Café is the relaxed dining option with contemporary options. It’s open all day, so you can have any meal here.
Chelsea Chowder House & Bar is the elevated dinner choice. It’s the perfect date night spot. Order the chowder and fresh seafood.
The Midship Marketplace is the casual grab and go coffee spot. They have snacks, to-go sandwiches and salads, and a Starbucks coffee menu.
They also have special dining options and events. For example, you can make a reservation for Afternoon Tea or Sunday Brunch, where you’ll dine in one of the historic salons.
Finally, the star of the show in my opinion is the Observation Bar. This historic bar was designed in the 1930s with the original ship. It was made with masculine themes like a beer barrel shaped bar, mythical creatures and beer barrel sculpted banister, and an art deco style mural featuring some proper debauchery.
The drinks are great and they have a nice small bites menu. Not to mention there’s often live music and the views from the deck just outside the bar are fantastic!
Amenities On Board
Aside from food and drink, there are some standard amenities aboard as well as some unique ones that make for a fun stay.
Internet
There is WiFi available on the ship. I will say, depending on where you are on the ship, the connection can be near impossible to access.
For example, when I was in the center of the ship near the shopping promenade, I was connected and good to go!
However, in my stateroom, I couldn’t connect for longer than 2 minutes and the connection was iffy at best.
All this to say, if you need to get work done or just have to stream The Office, you might want to weigh your options.
Exhibit Access
By far the coolest part of staying aboard the ship overnight was having access to the exhibits when no one was around.
Even though the exhibit hours can vary where some close at 5pm and/or don’t open until 10am, you can still see many of them at all hours of the day.
Some examples are the Childrens’ Playroom, Fitness Center, and Music Room.
Of course, you can wander the ship’s decks even if the exhibit rooms are closed. That is just such a special experience!
Fitness Center
You might be surprised to learn that there’s a fitness center on board. There was one back in the day and since then, it’s been modernized to today’s standards.
You’ll find weights, various benches, and cardio machines, and also a couple exhibits in the windows with old equipment and images of passengers in the gym back in the mid-1900s.
The Queen Mary Room Review
I’m excited to share a full room review! I stayed in an exterior deluxe stateroom. It featured incredible wood built-ins, a feature floor to ceiling mirror with a pull out vanity, and two closet spaces.
Honestly the design was one of the most impressive parts because it was clear that this was very similar to how the stateroom looked for passengers. With the historic charm, you’ll be pleased to know that everything has been updated where it was needed.
For example, while the old heating and cooling system is still in the room for you to look at, the climate control is controlled via one master control for the whole ship. So, while you don’t have individual control over the temperature of your room, you can ask the front desk for a heater or fan. As a perpetually hot girlie, I took the fan, and wasn’t too hot ever (in July!).
The modern updates extended to the king size bed, which was new and comfortable!
The bathroom was well equipped with a hair dryer, refillable toiletries, and ample towels.
The biggest complaint about the bathroom is a predictable one and that’s that the bathroom is tight. Similar to even modern cruise ships, there’s not a lot of space in the bathroom.
Still, there’s a full shower and bathtub, sink, cabinet, and toilet, so what more do you need really?
One note here, just based on my own experience and a bit of a warning to you, the floor of the bathtub in my room was extremely concave, almost like a hard taco shell where the sides were much higher than the center.
It made standing in the shower kinda tricky, so use caution and stay safe in there!
In adding to what to expect, the stateroom did not have a mini fridge or microwave. Perhaps the higher tier rooms do, but I couldn’t say. I’d call to inquire or browse photos online, if that’s a dealbreaker for you.
Because of all the old built-ins, there weren’t any outlets by the bed, so plan your charging schedule accordingly.
Finally, not all rooms are created equal. I’ve heard that the interior rooms are much more in line with a modern, basic hotel room without the built-ins or charm.
I’d opt for an exterior stateroom and I’d call to confirm that you’re booking the type of room you’re hoping for. I say that because in trying to confirm which hotel room type I stayed in, none of the pictures look like my room. I was there for work, so it was booked on my behalf, so I can say that it’s a bit hard to tell online alone.
Remember that you’re there for the special experience, not necessarily for ultra-modern amenities. For example, I didn’t see a business center aboard and the WiFi was pretty weak.
Sleep Quality and Noise
The bed itself was SUPER comfortable. I slept very well each night. Noise was a bit of a problem because the walls are pretty thin and the windows in the room don’t seal super well, so sound carried through easily. These are products of the age of the ship, so not unexpected.
In the hall, I heard loud guests who were a bit disrespectful and I also heard the ship’s music that plays in the common spaces as early as 8 am.
From the windows, early-ish in the morning other ships in the harbor would make noise.
Honestly though, it wasn’t really a major problem. If you’re sensitive to noise, I’d pack some earplugs or pick some up from the front desk (they’re free!).
Accessibility
They do have accessible rooms available! The ship also has elevators where the large ADA-accessible ones are in the access tower just steps from the ship on the outside. This tower connects the ship’s levels to the exterior of the ship, so visitors can access the ship from any level.
Some areas of the ship are not accessible because the elevators don’t go there and I believe for historic purposes, they can’t build ramps unfortunately.
One space that comes to mind is the Bridge and Captain’s Quarters, which are accessed via stairs on the upper deck of the ship.
Pet Policy
Pets are permitted on The Queen Mary! Inquire for any additional fees, as that information is not readily available online.
Did I experience anything paranormal?
It’s no secret that The Queen Mary is rumored to be haunted, so naturally people come to the hotel to spend the night and try to tap into the paranormal.
As for me, I hate to say, I didn’t have any supernatural experiences.
However, the ship was definitely CREEPY at night. It feels like if The Shining and The Titanic had a baby. The hallways are endless, the ship creaks, and the rooms get quite dark so its easy to fabricate some spooks.
Honestly, the scariest part were some of the exhibits, particularly the Propeller Room, Engine Room, and Boiler Room. They’re all on the lower levels of the ship and we visited early in the morning before visitors to the ship arrived, so we were legitimately the only ones down there. I just could not force myself to walk into the depths of these areas alone.
How much does it cost to stay overnight aboard The Queen Mary?
At the time of writing, room rates start at around $150+ per night and can vary greatly based on time of year and days of the week.
The Queen Mary has a haunted house in the fall months called Dark Harbor, so it becomes a VERY popular destination in October especially where the prices follow suit. The haunted tours and paranormal experiences aboard are a favorite year round though!
Who is this hotel best for?
While I think kids can appreciate the novelty of staying aboard a ship, adults and older kids will certainly appreciate the history and beauty more.
The Queen Mary is perfect for couples, solo travelers, and adult families and friends. There are some suites available if your group needs more space, too!
Which room is most haunted?
B340 is the most haunted room. There’s some debate on if the stories about this room are made up from when Disney used to run Haunted Mansion style tours aboard the ship. At this time, they installed effects in room B340 to make floorboards creak, faucets drip, and noises sound.
The Queen Mary themselves claim their ship’s logs declared a man dead in this room, so perhaps the rumors are true!
If you want to stay in this room, you’ll need to call to inquire about availability and to ensure you are assigned that room in particular.
Spending time in Southern California? These posts will help:
- Ultimate 5 day SoCal road trip itinerary
- How to spend a weekend in Long Beach
- 5 day Los Angeles itinerary
- Once in a lifetime things to do in Los Angeles
- Day trip guide to Joshua Tree National Park
- The best 1 day San Diego itinerary
- Disneyland vs California Adventure guide
- How to spend a day in downtown LA
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