Queen Mary Travel Guide

The RMS Queen Mary (named after the consort of King George V) sailed the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967 for the Cunard Line (then Cunard White Star Line). Built in Scotland, the Cunard Line was designed as the first of a 2-ship weekly express service between Southampton and Cherbourg and New York to compete with the European superliners that plied the route during the late 1920s and early 1930s. Used as a troop ship during World War II, the Queen Mary continued in commercial service between England and America until her retirement in 1967. Now permanently berthed in Long Beach, she serves as a museum ship and hotel.

The Queen Mary's design was originally criticized for being too traditional. Other than the spoon-shaped stern, she mostly resembled the bulkier versions of pre-World War I cruise ships. However, passengers had a far better opinion of her, considering her the grandest ocean liner ever built with her Art Deco interior. Her grand sized dwarfed the Titanic. The great number of her passengers also attest her popularity.

The Queen Mary is often used as a filming location for movies, TV shows, and commercials. Some of the most famous examples include "The Poseidon Adventure (1972), "Pearl Harbor" (2001), and "The Aviator" (2004).

Moored next to the Queen Mary is a Cold War-era Russian Foxtrot submarine. A tour of the "Podvodnaya Lodka" (Russian for "submarine") requires a separate entry fee.

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