Stay on the Queen Mary offers a journey back to another era

By Pam Becker
Chicago Tribune

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LONG BEACH — As my husband, our nephew and I made our approach to the Queen Mary Hotel in Long Beach, it occurred to me what an odd setting this was for a luxury hotel. We were passing through a hard-core industrial area that was none too fragrant.

Then again, when you book a stateroom on a giant former ocean liner that calls itself "one of the most haunted locations on the West Coast," you can expect something a little out of the ordinary.

Once we had parked in the lot next to the ship and taken the elevator to the A deck to check in, though, the ship's neighbors faded away. From that moment — when we heard the sound of jazz singer Billie Holiday singing "These Foolish Things" over the sound system — until we checked out 20 hours later, we basked in a palpable sense of the past.

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As we checked in and then made our way toward our stateroom, Holiday's haunting voice followed us.

"A cigarette that bears a lipstick's traces/An airline ticket to romantic places/And still my heart has wings/These foolish things/Remind me of you."

Arrival in the carpeted corridor that led to our stateroom brought an awe-inspiring sight: The wood-paneled walls, with a waist-high bar stretching along both sides (to steady unbalanced passengers), seemed to stretch into infinity. Here and there, short, narrow corridors opened up off the main one, with signs indicating the room numbers; this is where the staterooms were tucked away.

My husband and I, in Long Beach to visit his sister and her family, had booked a one-night stay in a deluxe, outside stateroom.

That meant we would have a view of the harbor, and we were not disappointed. The room was on the ship's starboard side (right, to us landlubbers), and our portholes looked out across Long Beach Harbor toward a glittering skyline, a marina and the Aquarium of the Pacific.

The room itself was generously sized — roughly 23 by 14 feet, including the bathroom — lined with the same warm wood paneling found throughout the ship, and decorated and furnished in art deco style. We had a king-size bed, and there was a large dresser, a good-size closet, two charming bed stands with two drawers and a cabinet each, and a smaller stand with a clock radio on it.

The Queen Mary, which is owned by the city of Long Beach and managed by Delaware North Cos. Parks & Resorts, is all about history and ghostly reminders of the past.

Among its attractions are the Ghosts and Legends tour and show (which promises to "uncover the secrets and spooks of the Queen Mary," according to the ship's daily newsletter, Ocean Times); and Dining with the Spirits (dinner with a paranormal expert at the ship's most upscale restaurant, followed by a tour of haunted locations).

As we wandered the enormous decks, we found reminders of the past all around us. On the back wall of the registration area was a large, round, raised ivory portrait of a regal woman wearing a crown and copious amounts of pearls around her neck. The letters running around the outer edge left no doubt about her identity: HER MAJESTY QUEEN MARY.

The more we walked, one thing became clear: The ship felt empty. Though there were a few fellow tourists taking in the sights, the ship's size (it is 1,019.5 feet long and 118 feet wide) dwarfed all human activity. Though this belied the ship's former glory as a busy carrier of the wealthy and famous across the Atlantic, it enhanced its ghostly atmosphere.

The high point of the afternoon was an hour's sojourn in the ship's lushly appointed Observatory Bar, where we sipped drinks, nibbled on hors d'oeuvres and watched as the late-day sun set the room aglow.

Anyone who is fond of history, as we are, would enjoy visiting the Queen Mary or staying in one of the 314 staterooms available to guests. Those who prefer more modern pursuits and comforts likely would not find much to enjoy there.

Some time after we left the ship, I recalled the final words of the song that had greeted us when we arrived.

"Oh, how the ghost of you clings. "These foolish things remind me of you."

A perfect summary of our stay aboard the Queen Mary.