The Queen Mary will reopen for public tours on April 1 for the first time in about three years, the legendary ship’s operators have announced.
“It is so exciting to finally welcome visitors back onboard this historic landmark,” Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson said in the Monday, March 27, announcement. “We have worked tirelessly to protect the ship’s safety, preserve its rich history and bring it back to life.
“These tours are just the beginning of a larger phased reopening plan,” Richardson added, “and we look forward to sharing more details of the ship in the coming months.”
Long Beach city officials and the Queen Mary’s new operators — Evolution Hospitality, which took over the ship’s day-to-day management last June — have been working to revitalize the vessel after it fell into massive disrepair under its previous operator, Urban Commons.
The Queen Mary initially closed to the public because of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
A 2021 city audit found that Urban Commons had not completed $23 million dollars worth of repairs, which the city had funded. Urban Commons forfeited its 66-year lease on the ship that same year, bringing the Queen Mary back under city control for the first time in nearly 40 years.
After the City Council approved the new management contract with Evolution last year, both found that several critical repairs needed to be completed before the Queen Mary could safely reopen to the public. Those included replacing the ship’s boilers, elevators and restrooms, repairing the plumbing, and upgrading parking.
Those fixes have been underway since last year.
Long Beach and Evolution initially anticipated the ship would reopen fully in October, but that date was pushed back until the end of the year — and then again to this spring. The city hosted limited public tours of the Queen Mary for the first time in three years late in 2022 in anticipation of the ship’s broader reopening.
Work on the final round of critical upgrades began in late February, the city said. It’s unclear what the status of those were as of Monday. City officials were set to conduct a walk through of the Queen Mary on Monday or Tuesday, and would provide an update on construction shortly after, said Tania Pantoja-Alvarez, a spokesperson representing Long Beach and Evolution on matters related to the historic vessel.
And now, officials are poised to at last welcome the public aboard the Queen Mary on Saturday, April 1.
Members of the public can also book a stay at the ship’s hotel, though rooms won’t be available until May 12, according to the city’s announcement.
Three tours — including the Glory Days Historical Tour, the Haunted Encounters Tour and the Steam & Steel Tour — will be available from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.
There will also be additional, more exclusive ship interactions available in the coming months for participants of the newly launched Queen Mary Membership Program, the announcement said.
”We’re very excited to announce the reopening of the Queen Mary tours,” Steve Caloca, the ship’s managing director, said in the announcement. “With expert guides to lead the way, these tours provide our guests with a unique perspective of The Queen Mary and allow visitors to discover the fascinating stories that have made her an icon of the seas.”
Reopening dates for the Queen Mary’s beloved eateries — such as Sir Winston’s and the Observation Bar — have yet to be announced.
“But we’re hoping to have access to the (Midship) Marketplace this weekend,” Pantoja-Alvarez said.
Tour tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Tuesday, March 28. Tickets and hotel reservations will be available on the Queen Mary’s website.
