Staying on the Queen Mary before cruise?

RTV God · #1 (**permalink**) July 29th, 2007, 06:32 PM

We are going on a cruise out of LA in October and at first were planning on driving from Sacramento the morning of the cruise ( 6 -7 hr drive). The more I think about it the less I want to do this. So, now we are thinking of staying on the Queen Mary for a night before the cruise. Has anyone done this or stayed on it at all. The price of a room is close to what the other hotels in the area are and we feel it would be a great way to start the cruise.

Any comments or suggestions would be great.

hankm · #2 (**permalink**) July 30th, 2007, 03:02 PM

We have not stayed on the Queen Mary however our Detroit News Travel writer had a recent review of her stay and gave it a very poor review. She had to ask for a room change twice due to poor accomodations. She said the Staff was fine but the ship is in poor condition. You might think of staying in Long Beach and just touring the ship. Again this is the opinion of someone else.

Paul Motter · #3 (**permalink**) July 31st, 2007, 11:18 AM

I wrote this article about the Queen Mary two years ago:

http://www.cruisemates.com/articles/...ylongbeach.cfm

We gad a GREAT stay, but I admit we had one of the suites (the Winston Churchill) which if you can afford it is well worth having. We loved the room and the ship, which is essentially a huge museum. If you go, be sure to take the ship's self-quided tour. It is an homnage to the ocean liner days.

If you LOVE ships and their history, you will love Queen Mary. I will also admit that I have heard the rooms itself can be in poor condition, especially for people more used to hotels. But if you appreciate the fact that you are in a historic liner's stateroom, and not something pretending to be 5-star hotel, then you will not mind. They are small rooms, just as you would expect.

We heard some problems with housekeeping, but I will note that new management has taken over in the last year, so hopefully things have improved.

Even if you don't stay there (as I would) - do plan a full day to visit her. She has a lot to see.

RTV God · #4 (**permalink**) July 31st, 2007, 06:43 PM

Thanks to both of you for your replys.

It doens't look like we will stay the night there since we are going with 2 other people and they are short on funds after paying for the cruise. Going to have to do the cheap route I guess.

Me and my wife are definetly planning on seeing the Queen Mary the next time we take a cruise out of LA and are planning on it just being the 2 of us, so we aren't being held back by others we are with.

FoghornLeghornGal · #5 (**permalink**) July 31st, 2007, 11:30 PM

I would highly recommend visiting the Queen Mary and having dinner or lunch on her. I absolutely loved the tour and the time I spent on her. I didn't get to stay overnight, but checked into it. The next time I'm there, I will stay at least one night.

I agree that as long as you're not expecting a 5 star resort, and appreciate the history of the ship, it would be a fantastic thing to be able to say "been there, done that" What an experience!

NSWP · #6 (**permalink**) August 1st, 2007, 11:38 PM

We plan to visit the QM prior to boarding Regal Princess at San Pedro on the afternoon of 31 August. Long Beach to San Pedro would not take long in a cab would it? We are staying the night of 30 August at Crowne Plaza, San Pedro, so we could get to QM, early in the morning, what time do the QM tours commence, anybody know?

Cheers

FoghornLeghornGal · #7 (**permalink**) August 1st, 2007, 11:44 PM

I believe the ship opens for tours at 10:00 am
There is a fee for parking

RTV God · #8 (**permalink**) August 2nd, 2007, 04:08 PM

Here is the web site for the Queen Mary. It has all the info you will need.

http://www.queenmary.com/

micheleinca · #9 (**permalink**) August 8th, 2007, 05:43 PM

I live in Long Beach. The QM has been going thru financial difficulties for years. I don't want to discourage you from seeing her, but I wouldn't recommend her as a first class hotel. The tours can be cool. The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach is wonderful, too!

It's about a 15-20 minute drive from the San Pedro cruise port. If it's during the morning or afternoon commute, it could be longer. If you were going out of the Long Beach cruise port, it's walking distance.

ceresgal · #10 (**permalink**) November 13th, 2007, 03:57 AM

We stayed the night on the Queen Mary the night before our cruise and it was wonderful. It has wood decks and it reminds you of how the Titantic would have seemed. You can check in, for your cruise on the Queen Mary so you don't have to do that in the terminal. You can board your cruise ship faster. It has a great museum and just walking on the Queen Mary is an awesome experience. Well worth the money.

Trip · #11 (**permalink**) November 15th, 2007, 07:58 PM

If you stop in our Cruisemates chat one night, one of our regulars has stayed on the ship. Her name is Judy, and I am sure she could answer any questions you may have..