RMS QUEEN MARY
July 18, 2025 | Long Beach, California
A July 18, 2025 visit to the RMS Queen Mary in Long Beach offered another opportunity to revisit the former Cunard liner and her art deco surroundings. Permanently moored in Southern California since 1967, she preserves a connection to the era of express Atlantic crossings and the wartime service that earned her the nickname “Grey Ghost.”
The RMS Queen Mary was built for an age when the Atlantic’s largest passenger ships competed through speed, comfort, and design. Her career encompassed luxury liner service, wartime troop transport, and a second life in Long Beach as a hotel and historic attraction. These different chapters make her one of the most significant surviving passenger ships of the twentieth century.
Information List
Name: RMS Queen Mary
Original Operator: Cunard White Star, later Cunard
Shipyard: John Brown & Company, Clydebank, Scotland
Launched: September 26, 1934
Entered Service: May 27, 1936
Retired from Seagoing Service: 1967
Length: Approximately 310.7 meters (1,019.5 feet)
Beam: Approximately 36.1 meters (118.5 feet)
Gross Register Tonnage: 81,237 GRT
Cruising Speed: Approximately 28.5 knots
Propulsion in Service: Geared steam turbines driving four propellers
Historic Port of Registry: Liverpool, United Kingdom
Current Location: Long Beach, California
Current Use: Hotel, historic attraction, dining, and event venue
History and Features
Construction and Entry Into Service
Construction began at John Brown’s Clydebank shipyard in 1930 under the designation Job 534.
The Great Depression interrupted work before financing allowed construction to resume in 1934.
Queen Mary named and launched the ship on September 26, 1934.
Her maiden voyage departed Southampton for New York on May 27, 1936.
Design and Features
Art deco public rooms, decorative woodwork, murals, and carefully coordinated furnishings helped establish the ship’s identity.
Her original passenger facilities included dining rooms, lounges, swimming pools, and a squash court.
The Observation Bar remains a notable example of her period styling, with views across Long Beach Harbor.
Her three funnels and long hull preserve the recognizable profile of a large Atlantic express liner.
Service
Queen Mary operated primarily between Southampton, Cherbourg, and New York.
She first won the Blue Riband in 1936, reclaimed it from Normandie in 1938, and retained the Atlantic speed distinction until United States surpassed her in 1952.
During World War II, she became a troopship. Her gray paint and speed helped establish the “Grey Ghost” nickname.
In July 1943, she carried 15,740 troops and 943 crew members, a total of 16,683 people.
After the war, she returned to passenger service alongside Queen Elizabeth. Stabilizers were installed in 1958 to improve comfort at sea.
Long Beach and the July 2025 Visit
Following retirement, Queen Mary departed Southampton on October 31, 1967, for her final voyage to California.
She arrived in Long Beach on December 9, 1967, and was subsequently converted for shoreside use.
The July 18, 2025 visit documented the ship during her continuing life as a historic attraction, long after the end of her Atlantic crossings.
Her preserved spaces offer a way to experience the scale and craftsmanship of an ocean liner that would otherwise be known mainly through photographs and memorabilia.
Legacy
Queen Mary links the history of Atlantic travel with the enormous logistical demands of World War II. Her preservation in Long Beach allows visitors to encounter that history aboard the ship herself, making her both a Southern California landmark and an internationally important survivor of the ocean liner era.
