Queen Mary turns 90, promises new “golden era”

In the middle of May 27’s day-long event to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Queen Mary’s maiden voyage, a crowd gathered on the foredeck.

“Listen, we know that [rechristening] isn’t a thing you do to a ship — we get it,” said Dylan Matteson, director of experiences for the Queen Mary, while Captain James Sanders and Managing Director Steve Caloca prepared to smash a bottle of champagne against the hull. “But this is a symbolic rechristening [… to usher in] a new golden era.” 

“Ten years from now, we want this beautiful ship to look like it did in 1936,” said Caloca. “That’s the mission.”

Worth the price of admission?
As the Queen Mary has passed through various ownership and management teams, they’ve experimented with how best to get people onboard. No fee for Long Beach residents. No fee after 6 p.m. No fee if you spend such-and-such amount in a restaurant. 

At present, the general admission fee is around $45 (plus parking) — the amount Caloca says they need to charge to cover the ship’s upkeep. But there are plenty of events that are far cheaper — and even free — with online reservations. Then there’s the Queen Mary Club, where $149 buys you unlimited access for a full year.

She’s a beauty
In addition to a host of displays throughout the ship, the Queen Mary is home to 23 museums and exhibits. The most recent addition, opened in December, is the Art Gallery (yeah, they didn’t spend much time on the name), a round-up of pieces that over the years have been moved from place to place within the ship’s confines (as opposed to pieces that have never been moved from their original locations). That’s nice, but especially impressive is something I stumbled across toward the bowels of the ship: a low-ceilinged collection of numerous artifacts from the ship’s seafaring days, all super finely crafted and sort of miniature (space is a premium at sea), giving the uncanny feeling that you’ve been shrunk down to get a close look at dollhouse furniture. Various other exhibits and museums throughout the ship provide that same feeling..

But as Caloca likes to point out, the ship herself is a museum. And even before the recent refurbishments, you had to be pretty jaded not to recognize what wonder it is. The art-deco aesthetics, the deep solidity of the wood and iron, the plushness of the salons — not to mention the irie vibe of looking down on the water (at least if you’re not looking south). Walking the ship is a treat — it’s a great way to get your steps in — and plenty of places to sit and relax. Whatever else you might come for — and the Queen Mary has plenty on offer, from movie nights, live music, and karaoke to fine dining, afternoon tea service, and a 4th of July fireworks spectacular (pretty bitchen) — the ship herself is the main attraction. 

But it’s never gonna be like 1936 — for better or worse
Despite Caloca’s comment at the rechristening, the goal isn’t actually to make coming aboard the Queen Mary like going back to 1936. There’s now a pickleball court, for example; and the relatively new “game room” has three TVs despite being only around 400 sq. ft.

“When we reopened the ship in 2023 [after being closed for four years due to the COVID pandemic], we looked at all of the areas, and once we had our strategy — that in 10 years we want the ship to look like she did in 1936 — we went into the Observation Bar, and there were TVs in there,” says Caloca.  “[…] It was something like, ‘We need to get rid of these, but we have customers […] who want to watch their sports.’ […] There was a storage room nearby, so we were like, ‘Let’s put the TVs in there, [with] some nice furniture and games in there for the kids and adults.’ […] We’re operating as a 300-room hotel within a museum, so we need some of these amenities to make people want to stay here. Like the sports deck at the very top [of the ship], with a pickleball court […] and a putting green.”

Fortunately, if these (let’s call them) modern conveniences aren’t to your taste, the ship is plenty big enough so that you can easily avoid going anywhere near them.

And then there’s that irresponsible hallmark of the present day
There are no drinking fountains on the Queen Mary, so here and there — at least during special events — you come across ad hoc water stations where you can help yourself, in addition to a couple of temporary bars. But if you don’t have your own cup or canteen, your only option is disposable plastic. Bottled water. Stack after stack of plastic cups. It’s an ugly reminder of the worst of the 21st century: that even though everyone is aware that plastic/oil dependence is ruining our environment, many of us (businesses and individuals) will not make even the slightest effort to do our part to mitigate the damage.

As someone who recently wrote an Earth Day piece titled ‘My friends’ plastic “fuck you” to their own children,’ I couldn’t help but ask Caloca about why, with cardboard and compostable cups so readily available, the Queen Mary is choosing to contribute so conspicuously and avoidably to the problem.

“We reopened in 2023, and that is part of our plan: to be as sustainable as possible,” he says. “We’re actually talking right now about putting water stations throughout the ship so people can bring their own and not have to rely on bottled water. […] If we can get rid of plastic in due time, that’s a great thing for everybody. And we all feel pretty strongly about that. That’s something we are planning to address for sure.”

Because he didn’t really answer my question, as diplomatically as possible I asked whether there is any concrete reason that they haven’t already done this — or at least will simply start right now — since all it takes is for the decision-makers to choose to buy biodegradable cups in lieu of plastic.

“There’s a lot of really important low-hanging fruit that we can address — like the cups. […] It’s definitely possible, it’s definitely something we could do,” he says. “[…] It’s definitely something we plan to address. It’s not like it’s 10 years down the line; it’s definitely something we plan to address. There’s a lot of low-hanging fruit we’re getting to as fast as we can — and sustainability is definitely one of those things.”

Sigh. “Can you give me a concrete reason this specific thing hasn’t been addressed?”

“Well, it’s probably just something that hasn’t come up on our planning — because everything we do is in five-year plans,” he says. Then, after a quick pause: “To be honest, that’s probably wrong, what I just said, because the planning is for the big things, right? Painting here, putting new flooring down here, [etc.]. So something like [eliminating plastic cups] easily could easily be something…It may be that’s not too far off. But no, I can’t give you a reason. The point you bring up is great. It’s definitely something we will look at.”

Here’s to the Queen Mary’s next 10 years being the golden era they promise — in all possible ways.