Cruising to the Queen Mary for a Halloween Adventure

There are few places in the world where a spooky, haunted ambiance intersects with a sunny expanse of blue skies—and even bluer waters. But Long Beach, California is one of them.

The beloved SoCal port city is home to the RMS Queen Mary, a 20^th-century liner with a lux and storied past. You don’t need to take our word for it, though. This Halloween, cruise by the Queen Mary, enjoy some water sports by its old-fashioned façade, and then stay the night in one of the ship’s famous cabins.

That’s right—“oceanfront accommodations” take on a whole new meaning when staying aboard the Queen Mary. Read on as we learn more about the allegedly spooky site, as well as a few fun ways to enjoy the marine paradise it calls “home.” Take a look.

A not-so-haunted history?

Like every great “ghost ship,” the Queen Mary didn’t start out haunted—history just made it that way. Or so they say.

The British ship first set course in 1936, with the goal of serving as a luxury ocean liner. Of course, with the start of World War II, priorities changed, and the ship served instead as a vessel to ferry Allied soldiers from place to place.

Following the wartime effort (for which the ship was commended, its speed and majestic look earning the ghoulish nickname “Grey Ghost), the Queen Mary returned to shuffling passengers across the Atlantic. Here, too, its speed and luxury digs made the ship a popular destination in itself, but it could not keep up—financially—with the ever-improving travel technology of the day and, thus, was decommissioned.

Save the date

So, if its history wasn’t so spooky, how did the Queen Mary come to gain its haunted reputation?

One possible reason could be the eerie date of its retirement to Long Beach—October 31^st, a.k.a. Halloween, 1967. After this date, restorative efforts were put into place to welcome tourists aboard… and not long after the stories started.

Some attribute the haunted nature of the Queen Mary to perished sailors or legends like the “Lady in White,” said to have been a first-class passenger, dressed in elegant evening wear, with a penchant for floating around the ship’s first class setting for about as long as the boat’s been in Long Beach.

Are the stories real? No one knows for sure, but popular “haunted tours” of the ship offer guests a chance to come to their own conclusions about who (or what) lurks the halls of the Queen Mary today.

How to enjoy a spooky stay…

It’s not all doom and gloom when it comes to staying aboard the Queen Mary. A popular local landmark, guests can stay to learn more about the boat’s purportedly haunted history, but they can also check in to familiarize themselves with old-fashioned, art deco-inspired digs in the sorts of cabins (portholes and hole) that passengers of yesteryear would have enjoyed.

… and fun by day, too

Of course, you’re a boater—so no matter how spooky and intriguing the Queen Mary may be, you’ll want to get behind the wheel (or hop on a board or pair of skis…) and enjoy some cruising of your own!

Long Beach provides plenty of opportunities to do just that.

You can start on Alamitos Bay, where the protected waters offer a great surface for smooth rides, whether you’re cruising out to the Pacific or staying close to shore for wakeboarding fun. Long Beach also offers excellent access to Catalina Island—it’s one of the closest mainland ports to the famously idyllic island getaway, one that’s especially fun to cruise around on your Vortex.

Looking for the perfect surface for those long, uninterrupted runs you love? Long Beach’s Marine Stadium is perfect for you. The waterway is located just inland from the bay, so it’s got a natural windbreak that makes for smooth skiing whenever you want it. Boats under 23 feet in length can launch here to begin their adventure, but larger boats have plenty of options, too, in the ramps and marinas surrounding the bay region.

Halloween plans in the heart of paradise? Check. We hope today’s virtual tour helps guide you to a thoroughly thrilling adventure on your Vortex, this Halloween and beyond.