Long Beach: The Queen Mary

 

http://www.queenmary.com/

We visited the Queen Mary in Long Beach as part of our last vacation.

We thought it would be interesting, and there were ways in which it was. For its sheer size, getting a look at the anchor and the engine rooms and the sense of what it took to run the ship is interesting. We had a nice sunny (though smoggy) day, and you can see a lot from on deck, where there was a cool breeze blowing. (Inside the ship it is pretty stuffy.) We also had wonderful company, so we had a good time.

Bearing all of that in mind, the ship is overpriced. There are various packages, but there are a lot of add-ons. For example, we chose one tour, and we ended up choosing the historic tour, which may have been a mistake. The other option was the haunted tour, but those seem better at night.There is another package with both, and then you can add on going to the submarine, or different exhibits. The Bob Hope exhibit was included with the one tour, but the Princess Diana exhibit would be separate, and it just doesn't feel like a good value, especially if you look at the prices for the various night attractions.

I do think it's cool that they have a theater on the ship and still have plays. The idea of having it as a hotel is interesting, but usually staying on a ship is less comfortable than on land, but you do it because you are going somewhere. I'm not sure that it makes sense.

That's not to say that it was a horrible experience. If money were no object, I might be tempted to combine an overnight stay with a paranormal investigation and really give it a shot. Money is an object for most people though, and this one is not the best value out there.