March 16, 2007
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Photopost: The Queen Mary
I can’t believe it’s been over a month since I took my last “photo expedition”, which was to the Queen Mary ocean liner, docked permanently in Long Beach, CA since 1967 as a Hotel and tourist attraction, for the Long Beach Scottish Festival. Liz accompanied me and I posted some earlier photos on my Photo Blog last month. Here are some more shots of the “Queen” and environs.
Looking back along the length of the ship from outside the bridge. A Carnival cruise liner can be seen in the distance. We exited the bridge right at noon, as the ship’s whistle blew, and it gave me quite a scare, as it’s quite loud when you’re right next to it.
I had Liz snap a “tourist photo” of me standing on the double decker bus on the dock before “boarding” the liner. This was early in the morning before lots of “Scots” dressed up in kilts started parading around the grounds.
A view of the Carnival Cruise Ship docked in back of the Queen, which is on the left. I always like the contrast of the newer ships, which look more like “floating hotels” because of the many balconies instead of decks, with the Queen Mary which “looks” more like a cruise ship to me.
From the bridge, I photographed the front, or “bow” of the ship. If not for the fact that the entire vessel doesn’t move, it “almost” seems as if you’re on the high seas while walking around on the decks of the ship.
A couple of seagulls roost on the main deck of the Queen Mary with the Long Beach skyline in the distance. Long Beach is the fifth largest city in the state of California, and is pretty impressive these days with all the high rises so close to the ocean.
One of the shops inside the main boarding area of the ship, which is now the lobby for the hotel. At one point Disney was in talks with the city of Long Beach, to buy the Queen and create an “ocean theme park” but the city officials thought Disney would generate too much traffic. As it is, the ship is not kept up that well, and doesn’t really get the tourist dollars it needs to “stay afloat”. It almost went bankrupt last year.
On the top deck at the rear or “stern” of the ship, you can see the dome which used to house Howard Hughes’ ”Spruce Goose” plane, and which also has served as a shooting stage for many movies. Now it’s part of the Carnival embarcation area.
This is a view of the bar at the front of the Queen Mary, which, if not for the flat screen television monitors, looks almost like it did in the 30s and 40s, when ocean travel was more popular than the new commercial aircraft. Lots of wook and brass on the Queen.
Speaking of brass, here is some of the shiny stuff on the bridge.
The Carnival cruise ship in the background, flanked by the side of the dome, and some foliage.
Lastly, I liked the “Nostalgia Shop” on board the Queen in the promenade deck, and took some photos of the displays. This is looking through the front window of the shop.
Comments (18)
Mike, I am a big fan of your photo entries and enjoy to see your world through your eyes. The Carnival Cruise Liner looks like a magnifecent ship. I will not mind being on such a ship for a voyage accross the ocean.
That looks like it’s so much fun to just walk around, absorb the ambience…
i love visiting ships! i can’t imagine what it was like to actually walk on the Queen tho! there had to be history everywhere you looked!
Mike you captured some beautiful photos.
Hope you are having a wonderful Friday and have lots of great plans for the weekend.
Tricia
:sunny: :sunny: :sunny: :sunny: :sunny: :sunny: :sunny: :sunny: :sunny: :sunny: :sunny:
that is sooooo cool!
“Missed the Queen Mary Cruise,
Might have gone but what for ?
Awfully different without me,
Don’t get around much anymore….
Went out driving to see
All the things seen without me,
Awfully lonely not to be there,
Don’t get to sail just anywhere.
Been missing you Mike, but my time is short during times I can blog, hopefully next year will be different….or not.
Hi Mike,
Great photos, as usual for you. One of the reasons I like Xa is to see all those places I would otherwise never have the chance to. Thx.
Have camera will travel, but not necessarily the best way to absorb the experience. The distraction of trying to take the pictures and chosing the shots detract from the experience in the short term but has bigger rewards in the longer run. So basically I am thankyou for the time, money and effort in putting out this blog, something that armchair travelers often fail to acknowledge.
Good critics of blogs and agents are not easy to find, but a necessary ingredient in anyone’s realm of writing. It takes time and experience to make any constructive criticism, so it is a given that good critics and editors play a useful part in the writing process.
In a way I think you bemoan the lack of swell critics and commenters, creative people like good quality feedback which shows the return of effort that you put forth is reciprocated.(sorry for the lousy sentence structure, I am first trying to get the ideas out)
I believe in the late seventies I was told that the Queen Mary was a great spot to catch very hard shelled crabs (as opposed to the more accessible to eat dungeness crabs) So at low tide and with a crab trap I visited the Queen Mary Area. I don’t think the pollution level has increased but I guess I would be hesitant to try to catch crabs in the present age.
Basically traffic considerations have hindered any event or development. This year the LA Marathon route was more traffic friendly, now, though the runners are complaining about the warehouse looking scenery that they had to run through.
Since you didn’t have a comment section in your robot article, I will express a mention in the scene of Fantasia. Micky conjures up the robot like brooms that can carry buckets is robot like. Another source of robot literature are the Astonding and Amazing story dime books/magazines. I prefer the comic book inspirations that also influenced young minds which are also too numerous to list….
I do love the beautiful old-fashionedness. My first boyfriend back when I was in eighth grade was enthralled with the Victorian Era and the beauty of the Gibson Girl and then the height of preenness and pride in the Titanic. (This was well before the movie was slated to come out.) The Queen Mary reminds me of the same era and brings back a sort of double nostalgia – for those good old days and the more recent good old days of my first romance. I hope your weekend is wonderful, Mike!
How wonderful! I was in Long Beach briefly last April to board a Carnival cruise ship, but I didn’t get to stay long enough to explore. I was fascinated with the Queen Mary, but we could only take photos of the outside. I had no idea that dome had so much history! I should have been asking questions, but I was just excited to be going on a cruise I guess. My son is fascinated with ships, and though he didn’t get to go with us last year I know he’d have loved both the Queen Mary and the Carnival Pride. How different they are, when you see them side by side. Thanks for this lovely entry–I like all of your stuff, but I could really relate to this one!
It’s been so long since I’ve been to Long Beach – not since the late 80s or early 90s. My father took me to see the Queen Mary. It’s funny to me that you specifically mention the brass – the image of brass is what I remember most about the ship. And I’m glad you put in the tourist shot; every good photo montage needs a tourist shot!
Long time since we’ve been on a ship. At sea or otherwise. They is special, ships are.
You’re so handsome for your “tourist photo” on the dd bus, which, by the way, I didn’t realize existed here in the States (obviously, I need to go West). The bar and bridge of the Queen Mary are beautiful. What an experience that must have been to be aboard her. I’ll speak for the floating hotels; they’re quite normal inside.
Quite a contrast between the two liners. Not much of a sea-dog myself.
just popped in to say ‘HI’!!!
Len & I went to Long Beach for Christmas break…stayed in a little motel right on the beach…I posted a video I made of our stay there, will re-post it if you want to see it!
Cool! :coolman: I’ve been on many boats and even a submarine, but I’ve never been on a ship.
Thanks for the tour, Mike. Last ship I visited was the USS Intrepid parked on the West Side of Manhattan – it has become a pretty good museum. Loved the old furnishings of Mary, though. Interesting to imagine what Disney would do with the vessel.