April 26, 2018 (Day 19) of
our Panama Canal cruise. The Norwegian Pearl docked in Los Angeles (San Pedro)
just after midnight with a departure scheduled at 4:00pm. This is the first
port of entry into the United States so mandatory customs and immigration
processing is required for all passengers.
The customs and immigration
process did not begin until 7:00am, and then only passengers who were on the
Norwegian organized shore excursions were allowed off. The remaining passengers were released at
timed intervals based on cabin location.
Group A 7:30am Decks 11, 14 and 15
Group B 8:00am Deck 10
Group C 8:30am Deck 9
Group D 9:00am Deck 4 and 5
Group E 9:30am Deck 8
For passengers not taking a
Norwegian shore excursion you would think you could simply walk through customs and
immigration and then immediately re-board the ship. Think again.
The clearing process was very annoying as you
are restricted from returning to the ship until ALL passengers have cleared
the ship. If you found yourself in the
7:30am group this meant you would not be able to
re-board until 10:00am at the earliest.
I had pre-arranged a 10:00am
private tour of the Queen Mary with Commodore Everette Hoard. Our little group of four would consist
of Eric and Anne Kirkby from Perth, Australia along with myself and my cabin
partner Marci Inman.
Eric and Anne exited the
ship at 7:30am but Marci and I were not scheduled until 9:00am as we were in GROUP
D. We were finally released at 9:25am,
putting our friends 2 hours ahead of us.
By the time our line arrived at the immigration center it was
9:55am.
Once cleared, Marci and I began
making our way to the escalator leading to the terminal exit. As I glanced up I noticed Eric and Anne
sitting in a tiny immigration room. They
were not given clearance because of a passport issue so they found themselves
sitting in a waiting room for over 2 hours. Marci and I were not allowed in the room nor
did the authorities allow us to talk with them. We were forced to leave the terminal and
wonder when we might see them again.
Unfortunately there are no
seats inside the terminal and very few outside.
Marci and I did manage to finally secure a bench and I placed a call to
the Queen Mary to advise we were running late.
Fortunately within ten minutes Eric and Anne emerged from the
terminal. The passport number for Anne
had been incorrectly input by the cruise ship company. Problem solved and we were ready to head to
the Queen Mary. LYFT to the rescue. The car arrived within 1 minute, the cost was
$12.49 and it took 16 minutes to complete the trip.
Commodore Everette Hoard met
us at the red carpet looking simply stunning in his dress blues. Even though I had never met him I instantly
knew it was him.
Commodore Everette’s love
affair with the Queen Mary began at the age of 4 and by the time he turned 20,
his family had moved to California, allowing him to be close to his first love. Beginning his career with the Queen
in 1981, he took over as Commodore in 2009.
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| Commodore Everette Hoard |
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As the Commodore escorted
the four of us into the ticketing area we came across four fellow passengers -
Steve and Judy Rohrer from Texas and Big Al and Jan Malone from Vancouver,
Washington. With permission from the
Commodore, I was pleased that they were allowed to join our private tour.
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| The Commodore and I |
The R.M.S. Queen Mary began her
maiden voyage May 27, 1936. She is 1,019.5 feet long, 118 feet wide, 185 feet
high and contains 12 decks. She offered
22 first class suites, 328 first class staterooms and 18 first class public
rooms accommodating 815 passengers.Second class comprised 303 staterooms and 9 public rooms accommodating 787
passengers. Third class contained 309
staterooms with 6 public rooms for 573 passengers. She is 81,237 gross tons and is made of high tensile steel plating
with 2,000 portholes all held together by 10 million rivets. The
Titanic, in comparison, used only 3 million. The Queen carried approximately 2,000
passengers and 1,200 crew members.
The Queen Mary also held the
record as the fastest ship in world, snatching the title from the French liner
Normandie in August 1936. In 1937 the Normandie
re-claimed the title but the Queen won it back in 1938 and held it for the next
14 years. She crossed the Atlantic in 3
days 20 hours and 42 minutes at a speed of 31.69 knots
(around 36 or 37 land mph), using a
barrel of oil every 12 seconds. Most impressive
to say the least.
Each chain attached to her two great
anchors is 990 feet (165 fathoms) long and weighs 145 tons.
Each link has a diameter of 4⅛ inch and weighs 225 pounds. The anchors themselves weigh in at 16 tons each.
THE QUEEN
MARY CHIEF FEATURES
Number of
passengers: 2,000
Number of
crew: 1,050
Classes:
First, Tourist and Third
Overall
length: 1,019 feet
Beam: 118
feet
Depth (from
keel to superstructure top): 135 feet
Depth (from
keel to masthead): 234 feet
Number of
funnels: 3
Diameter
(larger) of funnels: 30 feet
Circumference
of funnels (approx.): 100 feet
Number of
propellers: 4
Weight of
propellers (approx.): 35 tons each
Number of
boilers: 27
Working
pressure of boilers, per square inch: 400lb
Steam
temperature: 700 deg. (Fahr.)
56
different kinds of wood veneers were used
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| Different types of wood on display |
Many of the scenes from the TV mini-series
“Winds of War” starring Robert Mitchum were filmed on the Queen Mary in the
Main Hall and Main Staircase. The Observation Bar is also a popular spot for
Hollywood. Feature films shot here
include: ”Being John Malkovich” with Cameron Diaz, “The Aviator” staring Leonardo DiCaprio also
“Out to Sea” with Walter Mathau and Jack Lemmon. More recently “He’s Just Not That Into You”
staring, Jennifer Aniston and Ben Afleck was filmed.
As we made our way around
the ship I was constantly amazed at both the beauty and the history surrounding this
icon, not to mention the facts and stories that Commodore Everette shared, all from
memory. I found him to be so inspiring and enthusiastic with a true zeal for
anything and everything relating to the Queen. Several times he would say “Now this is one of my favorite rooms.” He just made me smile.
I could write volumes about my
tour and perhaps some day I may. For
now, I will highlight a couple of my favorites.
First, the First Class Main Hall, whose theme was music. Without a doubt this is the grandest
room on the Queen Mary and also one of the largest and finest ever built aboard
any ship in human history. Designed to
seat the entire compliment of over 800 first class passengers in one sitting,
the room retains many aspects of her early magnificence.
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| Passengers enjoying dinner on maiden voyage 1936 |
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| View in 1936 |
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| Current view |
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| "Unicorns in Battle" at one end of hall |
|
A fascinating voyage tracking decorative map,
24ft. by 15ft. occupies a position at the forward end of the room. The work of Mr. MacDonald Gill, F.R.I.B.A., this map represents the
North Atlantic Ocean. He incorporates a clock and the vessel’s
summer and winter courses with an illuminated model in crystal indicating the
position of the ship on the voyage between Bishop’s Rock and the Nantucket
lightships.
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| Voyage tracking map |
Another striking feature is a series of carvings by Mr. Bainbridge Copnall. These carved plaques, 14 in total,
illustrate the history of the art of shipbuilding through the ages.
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| Depicting the Great Eastern, Mauretania, Queen Mary and Britannia |
The Queen Mary also houses many attractions, shops and various dining
options. She has a variety of gift and
souvenir stores that cater to those who love to shop. For those who love
art, the ship still houses some of her original Art-Deco pieces. She also
features great sightseeing views from her Promenade and Sun Deck.
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| Shops in Main Hall |
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| Stores onboard |
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| Stores onboard |
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| Stores onboard |
There
is even a great hotel onboard for those who want to experience the ultimate on the
Queen. Passengers have the option of staying on A deck, B deck or M
deck. There are many different cabins available ranging from small twin
bed cabins to luxurious first class staterooms.
You will be able to view the world’s largest brick model of the Queen Mary on display. Built on a 1/40 scale, it contains 250,000 lego bricks, the brainchild of Ed Diment, co-found of Bright Bricks of
England. The project required four
builders four months to complete and stands 26 feet wide weighing over 600
pounds.
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| Lego Model of the Queen Mary | | | |
Other sights around the ship.
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| Wheelhouse |
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| Promenade Walk |
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| Elevator bank |
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| From the Titanic Exhibit |
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| From the Titanic Exhibit |
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| View from the deck |
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| Titanic Exhibit |
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| Art-deco bar |
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| Reception | |
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| Diana Exhibit |
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| Beautiful woods |
Oh, I almost forgot to mention - she has been voted as one of the top 10 most haunted places in America by Time Magazine. Haunted tours are offered but time wouldn't permit us to find out for ourselves. Oh darn.
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| Now what room did that ghost duck into? |
The date was September 3,
1939 and the Second World War had begun in Europe. Queen Mary was at sea, two
days away from ending her one hundred and forty third Atlantic crossing. In a coded message from the
British admiralty, Captain Irving was instructed to put his ship on full war
alert. He was ordered to “take all
necessary precautions” to ensure the liners safe arrival in New York and to
give particular attention to the threat of submarine attack. There were 2,332
passengers aboard during that last civilian crossing. Bob Hope and his wife
Dolores were two of those passengers.
Many people are familiar with the
Atlantic passenger transport of the Queen Mary but more importantly was the
role she played as a troopship from
1940-1947. She is undeniably the most
famous troopship still in existence today.
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| Queen Mary painted battleship gray |
In
March of 1940, the Queen Mary was the first Cunard liner called up by the
admiralty for active war duty as a troopship.
Her well-known Cunard colors of black, white, and red were replaced with
a coat of drab, gray paint. Even the
letter spelling our QUEEN MARY on the bow and stern were blocked out. Most of her carpeting, furniture,
artwork and fragile fittings were removed along with 200 cases of crystal,
china and silverware. They were housed
for the duration of the war in Cunard warehouses along the Hudson.
On
March 21, 1940 at 8:00am the Queen Mary left New York harbor escorted by the
United States Coast Guard and the New York Police Department and headed to
Sydney, Australia. Aptly nicknamed the Gray
Ghost, all of the windows, as well as the portholes, were blocked out and
every crack or crevice that light could possibly seep thru was sealed up so
that after dark, with no external lights on and all internal light contained,
the Queen Mary could pass thru waters swiftly, silently and undetected. Troops were carried up to 15,000 at a time across the
dangerous submarine infested seas.
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| Loaded with troops |
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| December 1944 |
Meals were served twice a day, food
provisions for a 6 day sailing were 124,000 pounds of potatoes, 53,000 pounds of butter, eggs and milk
powder, 31,000 pounds of sugar, coffee, tea, 29,000 pounds of fresh fruit,
31,000 pounds of canned fruit, 18,000 pounds of jam, 155,000 pounds of meat and
poultry, 21,000 pounds of bacon and ham, 76,000 pound of flour and cereal,
4,600 pounds of cheese. In addition there
were 9 canteens aboard which required 40,000
bottles of soft drinks, 5,000 cartons of cigarettes, 400 pounds of candy
and several crates of toothpaste, shaving crème, razor blades, etc. Some 6,500 tons of fresh water was pumped
aboard as well. Fresh water was rationed
during voyages. Each soldier was given a
half of a gallon of fresh water for the 5 day crossing.
The Queen Mary would make 72 wartime
voyages, transporting 800,000 troops between 1940 – 1946. Her record number of passengers was 16,683 in July of 1943. That still stands as the largest number of
human beings ever transported on one vessel in the history of the world. She crossed the Atlantic in approximately 5
days traveling at anywhere from 25 –29 knots or approximately 30 miles per hour.
The war ended in 1945 but the Queen
Mary was not finished with her troop transfer service. After being demilitarized and refitted, she
became part of the U.S. Army “Operation Diaper” or more
commonly known as the “Bride and Baby Shuttle”.
From February thru September of 1946 Queen Mary made 13 round trips
between Southampton and New York. She
safely transported nearly 25% of all
service dependants brought from Europe in the year following the end of World
War II.
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| 47,783 "war brides" and 21,950 children were transported by the Queen Mary |
In May 1967, Cunard Line announced
that the Queen Mary would be retired and sold. The City of Long Beach submitted
the highest bid of $3,450,000. A final voyage took 39-days, traveling 14,500
miles from Southampton, England, to Long Beach due to the fact that she was too
large to pass through the Panama Canal.
Instead, she traveled down the coast of South America and then into the
Pacific Ocean via Cape Horn, arriving in Long Beach on December 9, 1967.
A 20-year refurbishing project included repainting. It required 20 tons of paint, cost $4.5M and took 10 months to complete. In a word the Queen Mary is
simply STUNNING!
There are very few ships still in existence that compare to the
innate beauty and rich history of the RMS Queen Mary. She is perhaps, the most legendary liner to
ever sail the oceans.
But she isn’t just a ship,
she’s a legend. She definitely
speaks of a nostalgic and bygone era.
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| Commodore |
Thank you Commodore Everette for making the tour so very special. With the clock fast approaching 3pm I called a LYFT driver. Arriving within 5 minutes the return trip took 15 minutes at a cost of $14.11.
