What’s It Like to Spend a Night Aboard the Haunted Queen Mary?

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to spend a night aboard the haunted Queen Mary? Maybe you’ve even indulged your curiosity and done it?

If so, why are you reading this? To see what I’ll say? That’s fine. I’m not one to turn readers away! Just be sure to leave a comment letting me know what you thought about your stay. I’m curious to compare notes with you!

But if you haven’t ever had the chance to stay aboard the Queen Mary, for whatever reason (you haven’t jaunted to Long Beach, the cost is too high, etc.), come with me now as I recount my experience in the only way I know how: honestly. (Which means I’m not going to sugar coat the experience.)

ARRIVING

If you’re arriving from LAX, which we were, they don’t have a hotel shuttle between the Queen Mary and the airport. We Uber’ed it for $80. A taxi will cost you about the same. (However, refer to the Tips section below for a money saving tip about shared-ride shuttles that do operate between the surrounding airports and the hotel.)

 

I was sort of surprised about the security out front. Not that there were guards with machine guns or anything. Just staff to direct you to the appropriate place depending on whether you were checking in or coming just to have dinner or do a night activity.

Our luggage gave us away. It was pretty obvious we were there to check-in so up the elevator to Level 3 or “A” Deck we went to.

Check-In

There’s really nothing special about check-in. It’s the same as anywhere else basically.

Except if you’ve always wanted to stay aboard the ship. Then you might be giddy and bursting with excitement like I was!

Also, I was enamored with the decor. It wasn’t as grand as I’d expected. Dated really. Yet, I was okay with that. It retained its authentic charm.

Our Room

I had read reviews on both Trip Advisor and Expedia, which for the most part were mixed. Some people were delighted with their rooms; others were disappointed. So I sort of knew to expect perhaps not the most modern or posh accommodations. Still, I’m the “hope for the best” type.

Sadly, the room –with the exception of the bathroom (which was loaded with personality)– was a let down. It looked like a cheap motel room.

Don’t get me wrong. It was clean and spacious enough. I guess in the interest of retaining the history there too, there aren’t a lot of modern upgrades. (For example, the carpet. It wasn’t dirty, but it seemed well used. Maybe a little too well used.)

Or was it because I opted for the cheapest room possible (inside stateroom)? Maybe other rooms are a bit grander?

Our room did look similar-ish to rooms pictured on the Queen Mary’s Staterooms & Suites page, but…well, let me show you a comparison of their photos vs. mine.

(Keeping in mind, of course, theirs are surely shot by pros with the right lighting/staging. Mine are WYSIWYG, i.e. No filters or editing.)

Their Photos 

My Photos of Our Room

Some aspects of the room felt even more dated and worn, and, for lack of a better word, cheap than others. Like the closet and the nightstand:

However, one thing I really dug was how each room basically had a little entry alcove, making entering feel very intimate and private.

The Actual Stay

Even though the room itself was a bit lacking in charm, the bed was comfy. Neither my husband nor I had any trouble sleeping.

The big downside and something I hadn’t read any reviews about was how thin the walls were.

Yowser! We might as well have been in the room with the people next to us.

We could very clearly hear everything going on in the next room. And I do mean everything. From conversations to bathroom visits to changing clothes to what channel they were watching on their TV.

And they weren’t being that loud. Heck, they weren’t being loud at all. Just normal.

It made us very self-conscious though. We tried to be as quiet as possible going forward.

As I started exploring the ship the next morning, though, I found an explanation for the noise: the steel walls. Without the engines drowning sound out, sound carries like mad.

What To Do Aboard Ship

This post is getting a little long.

Stay tuned for another post (or two) about what all we saw and did aboard the Queen Mary. (Because we crammed in as much as we could with our one night stay!)

Tips

1. If you drive yourself, be prepared to pay for parking. ($22 for overnight.)
2. If you’re not driving there yourself, and you want a cheaper option than Uber, Lyft or taxis, SuperShuttle and Prime Shuttles go to and from the Queen Mary also. It would’ve cost us about $35 total for the both of us to get there. We did book a shuttle back to the airport through the hotel. (We went with SuperShuttle for $30 for the both of us. That’s a $50 savings over Ubering it!)
3. You can also use public transit to get there. That will also save you a bit of money on transportation cost, but you’ll have to trade time for money. (Meaning it will take you a little longer to get there.) Also, you wouldn’t want to do this if you had a lot of luggage to schlep around. There will be walking involved.
4. You can request to be put in a room near activity or with reports of it. (Or you can pop for their most haunted room, B340. If both your nerves and wallet can afford it…)
5. Maybe ask if there non-adjoining rooms carry sound from neighbors a little less. (We’re thinking the door in our room that adjoined to our neighbor’s maybe contributed to being able to hear them so well?)