Spend a Night on the Haunted Queen Mary
View from the Sports Deck on the Haunted Queen Mary
It’s a little strange to write about ghosts at the start of the summer, but I always enjoy a good ghost tale. The haunted Queen Mary is a perfect destination all year round, whether you’re looking for a scare or just want to explore something rich in history. If you haven't visited, it's worth considering spending a night to experience something completely different from the norm.
Visiting the Queen Mary
The RMS Queen Mary is a Long Beach icon. You can see it across the water from various points in Long Beach, though it’s often dwarfed by passing cruise ships these days. The enormous ship still sits proudly, offering a glimpse into another time and place.
Despite its historic significance and fame, the Queen Mary’s future was rather uncertain for a period, as the ship was closed to the public for a few years while major repairs took place. Thankfully, it has once again become a popular destination since reopening in 2023. At this time, you can visit restaurants, a bar, historic (and ghost!) tours, and even spend the night at the hotel.
Approaching the ship’s entrance
I have stayed overnight on the Queen Mary twice before, well over a decade ago, but I was curious to give it another try and see how the ship looked after the grand reopening. I planned an overnight with my friend at Christy Wanders, and we decided to book an art deco twin room, have dinner at one of the restaurants, and take one of the ghost tours.
Planning Your Overnight Stay
The easiest way to book your visit is to go through the Queen Mary website. You can reserve your room and any tours by seeing what’s available for the days you plan to be there. Some dates are harder to book than others, so you want to make sure there is still availability for your preferred tour before committing to your hotel room. For our trip, we booked a Harbor View Deluxe Twin.
We were also able to make our restaurant reservations through OpenTable. Even though this trip was without my beloved dog joining us, the Queen Mary is a dog-friendly hotel for dogs under 25 lbs for a fee. They do say that dogs above 25 lbs are subject to the ship manager's discretion, but I only saw smaller dogs during our stay, so I’m not sure how much wiggle room there is on that. Dogs are permitted in the general ship areas, but not on the tours or in the enclosed restaurants.
Arriving and Checking In
Check-in is technically at 4pm, but we were permitted to check in early at 2pm. This allowed us to take our time heading down to Long Beach.
The view of the Queen Mary from the hotel parking lot
Follow the signs for the Queen Mary and take Queens Highway to get to the parking area. There is one lane for Hotel and Restaurant Parking and one labeled General Parking. If you’re staying at the hotel, the Hotel and Restaurant lane takes you to the parking lot right in front of the ship. There are parking lot attendants who can help if you’re unsure of which way to go once in the lot.
Hotel guest self-parking is $30 a night, and $60 if you have an oversized vehicle. Once you’ve found your parking spot, grab your luggage and head towards the ship. As a hotel guest, you check in at the same area where the tours check in, and they will have your name on a list. From there, take the elevator up to one of the upper planks and cross that into the lobby on A-Deck.
The Queen Mary
Boarding the ship from the connecting planks.
Upon getting our room keys, we were asked if we would like champagne. We said yes (obviously) and were handed two passes for complimentary champagne we could claim between 4-6pm in the Starboard Lounge across from the lobby. From looking at the pass, it’s something they are currently doing for Friday and Saturday night check-ins, so keep that in mind if it’s something you’d like to take advantage of during your stay.
Our Queen Mary Hotel Room
The hallways of the Queen Mary truly remind me of The Shining. Even more so at night, but I’ll get to that in a bit. Our room was on M-Deck and had amazing views of the harbor and Long Beach skyline.
Room with a view
The porthole view from our hotel room.
Fair warning, the ship is old. And I do mean OLD. Most of the repairs to the ship were structural, so don’t expect some bougie hotel room experience. The walls are incredibly thin, which was mentioned at check-in. You will hear your neighbors if they’re in their room. Quiet time starts at 10pm and the staff takes violations seriously.
The bathroom is also…interesting. There was a surprisingly deep tub, and the usual bathroom amenities, but the toilet seems like an original piece. Flushing it required some strength and sounded like a spaceship launch.
Queen Mary Hotel
One of the two beds in our twin room.
If you can deal with all of that, it’s a very cool experience to do for a night. And the beds were very comfortable. On top of the little historic touches in the room, and a functioning porthole, you can wander large sections of the ship at your leisure. And as long as you’re quiet, this freedom extends into the later evening hours if you want to see about scaring up some ghost sightings of your own, on your own.
Exploring the Queen Mary
Since we checked in at 2pm, and our free champagne couldn’t be claimed until 4pm, we dropped off our bags in our room and quickly set off to explore the ship. Our first stop was the Promenade Deck, which is where most of the activities are centered.
The Promenade Deck
If you take the staircase up to the Promenade Deck, you will be rewarded with a sight straight out of Titanic. This floor is likely the most opulent of the decks, with shops, restaurants, and artifacts on display.
The Promenade Deck
The Commodore’s Office greets you upon entering the deck from the grand staircase.
I should mention the ship can be a little confusing to navigate at first. In fact, the website encourages you to download a ship map, and you are given one when arriving at the lobby. Once you’ve wandered around, you’ll at least have a general idea of where to go.
Since we had a little time to kill, we found the Midship Marketplace, which is on the Portside of the Promenade Deck. Just look for the sign hanging from above that says “Coffee.” It’s a small concession stand that serves Starbucks coffee, and other odds and ends to eat and drink. There are a few tables near the entrance, but we opted to take our coffees up to the Sun Deck and sit outside.
The Sun Deck
This is one of the exterior decks on the ship. You get an amazing view of the harbor and Long Beach across the way on the starboard side. There are also benches on the harbor side to sit and relax while taking in the view.
View of Long Beach from the Sun Deck
I saw lots of people with their dogs here, though I have no idea where the dogs were relieving themselves during their stay. I guess don’t spend too much time thinking about that last point and just enjoy your seat.
Starboard Lounge
After finishing our coffee, we made our way back down to the lobby area on A-Deck and over to the Starboard Lounge to claim our complimentary champagne. There are only a few tables in the lounge area, as well as four chairs at the bar. The best seat in the house is in front of a floor-to-ceiling glass door that looks out at the water, and though it was occupied when we got there, we were able to snag it when that couple left.
The Starboard Lounge
Serving more than just free champagne.
Chelsea Chowder House and Bar
Our dinner reservations were at the Chelsea Chowder House and Bar. It’s likely the nicest of the restaurants currently open on the ship. There are less expensive options, but we were fine with splurging a little for the evening.
Beautiful sunset
The view from our dinner table.
The restaurant is light and airy, with windows and harbor views along the entire wall. We were seated at one of the window tables. I’ll be honest, I was not expecting much with regards to the food given the touristy nature of the ship. But we both thoroughly enjoyed our entrees. Christy got a filet mignon, and I got a scallop risotto. The cocktail program was also strong, with an interesting spin on an Old Fashioned that used vanilla and apple bitters.
Dinner on the ship
Scallop, pea, asparagus risotto and the Colonel Warden cocktail.
Ghosts and Other Spooky Things
As you might expect with such a historic place, there are plenty of ghost stories aboard the Queen Mary. From tales the tour guides tell, including famous (and famously untrue) ghostly happenings, to current stories from recent guests of the ship, the Queen Mary is widely known as a must-see haunted destination.
The Tours
There are currently multiple ghost-themed tours or experiences you can be part of on the ship. Depending on which one you do, you may stop at different locations with different stories. Our tour guide didn’t seem to believe in ghosts, even though he had some unexplained incidents of his own, so YMMV.
View of Long Beach from the ship at night
Our tour was the Parnormal Shipwalk Tour and runs about two hours. It’s worth mentioning that you spend a lot of time walking around the ship, which includes various sets of stairs. Ours was also in the evening, starting at sunset, and it was quite dark in places.
Queen Mary Ghosts
From the start, they tell you there are far more stories and untimely deaths than the tour will cover. There are legends that have been around for decades, and others that are relatively recent from hotel guests and staff alike.
One of the staircases you will encounter has at least two deaths attributed to it, along with the potential that one ghost likes to push people. It’s a creepy feeling to stand at the bottom.
Haunted Staircase
At least two people have met their deaths falling here.
Another stop on the tour is a room with haunted mirrors. Though the ghost that resides here is known for playing the piano at times, as well as appearing and disappearing to startled staff, people allegedly capture images of people who weren’t really there while photographing the mirrors. We did not, but we tried!
Creepy Mirrors
The mirrors fit the room.
On the Bridge, many people have reported seeing the ghostly figure of a captain at the wheel taking one last voyage. Though we saw nothing, there is something eerie about being up there at night. You can imagine someone, or something, lurking in the shadows waiting to appear.
Queen Mary bridge without its captain
As you walk along the ship, keep an eye out for the little plaques announcing a ghost story was reported at that location. We saw one on the ghost tour that wasn’t even mentioned while we were standing there.
Ghost sightings posted around the ship
Room B340 has become so notorious for hauntings that the hotel now rents it out (I guess when not included in the tour). Leaning into the hype, the room has blue lighting, stories written on the wall, and even a Ouija board in one corner. That said, it was the least spooky spot on the tour, feeling more Disney Haunted Mansion than anything menacing.
Inside Room B340 on the Queen Mary
Speaking of spooky, the places I found the most unsettling were locations deeper in the ship that simply felt abandoned. That above you is opulent wood and brass, and then a few floors down takes you to what feels like a forgotten world. Though these spots had no ghost tales associated with them, they’re not places I’d want to be alone in during the day or night.
Abandoned room
Weirdly, there are old pianos all over the ship.
The engine room has the same feeling. A place that once bustled with activity but is now so silent you can hear your own breathing. Unlike the spots above, there is a sad tale of a young man who was killed by one of the mechanical doors closing on him. He is said to still make appearances here. Walking through the engine room into that door is a surreal path to take.
Entering the Queen Mary’s engine room
The final stop on our tour was in front of the remaining propeller visible in the water. Again, while no ghost is associated with it, the image might be the most disturbing for those who fear what lives in dark waters.
Ghostly propeller
Creepy in its own right.
Spirits with Spirits: Late Night on the Ship
After our tour ended, we were still pretty wired at 10pm, so we decided to do some exploring on our own. Back on the ship, we quietly walked the halls and dropped by some of the spots they pointed out on our tour that were still open to hotel guests.
There was a prom taking place in one of the ballrooms, so it probably wasn’t quite as creepy walking around at night given the pounding bass from below us. That said, the halls were completely void of people, so it was easy to let your imagination get the better of you.
Our exploring took us back to the Observation Bar, and since it wasn’t quite closing time, we grabbed a seat by the windows and ordered a drink. The bar has a very cool interior with red lighting and big, cushy seats.
Observation Deck
Every seat in the house offers a unique view of the room.
As guests of the hotel, we were given the option to take our wine with us in plastic cups as it neared closing time. Cups in hand, we made our way back down to the Starboard Lounge and took our earlier seats in front of the Starboard Lounge window.
The lounge also has some ghost tales associated with it, including a spectral Liberace playing the piano there. It was a perfect end to the evening to sit, chat, and wait for something to make its presence known.
Starboard Lounge
Best seat in the house for enjoying your spirit of choice.
Ready, Set, Know
Address: 1126 Queens Hwy, Long Beach, CA 90802
Attractions: Hotel, Restaurants, Bar, Tours, Shops
Dogs Allowed: Yes, on a leash in the general ship areas and certain hotel rooms (25 lb limit without special permission)
Views: Yes
Admission Pricing: Varies
Parking: Yes, fee varies
