June 2, 2008Queen Mary, Long Beach, CA
I stayed on this ship overnight on my last leg of my trip to Southern California. The RMS Queen Mary, launched in 1936, served during WWII as a troop ship and afterward as a luxury liner for Cunard, transporting passengers between the UK and the United States. It ended its service in 1967 (when the Queen Elizabeth 2, also recently retired and to become a floating hotel, was launched to replace the Queen Mary's service), at which point it made its permanent home at Long Beach, California, as a museum and hotel. The ship, over 1000 feet long, still remains as one of the largest passenger ships in the world. It once held the Blue Riband for speed crossing the Atlantic (from 1938-1952, both eastbound and westbound, before being outrun by the SS United States).
I stayed in a first class cabin (turned into a hotel room) on portside, M deck (uppermost for cabins) facing the bay. It was quite an experience. Walking around the upper decks at night was a special treat.
