The Check-In: Preserving a landmark in Long Beach, meet the Queen Mary's commodore, and more

Preserving a historic ocean liner — especially one that was built in the 1930s and went on 1,001 transatlantic crossings before being transformed into a floating hotel — isn't a simple task, but officials from the city of Long Beach, California, say they are up to the challenge.

It's a new era for the Queen Mary

The RMS Queen Mary has been docked in Long Beach since 1967, the same year she was retired by the Cunard Line. The elegant ship was once a city at sea, with five dining areas, cocktail lounges, swimming pools, beauty salons, a music studio, and a grand ballroom. She traversed the Atlantic Ocean for three decades, carrying more than 2 million passengers in peacetime and 810,000 military personnel during World War II. British and Hollywood royalty traveled on the Queen Mary, as did Winston Churchill, who signed the D-Day Declaration on board.

As luxurious as the vessel was, she couldn't compete with jets. The ship was put up for sale in 1967, and Long Beach had the winning bid of $3,450,000. After docking in California, the Queen Mary was converted into a hotel and became a popular tourist attraction, with the city leasing the ship out to operators who managed her.

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It takes a lot of time, money and effort to maintain the Queen Mary, and documents obtained by the Long Beach Press-Telegram in 2017 found that critical repairs needed to be made to the ship, as the hull was corroded and if the engine room flooded, the vessel could sink. Work began in 2020, and included reinforcement upgrades to the ship's bulkheads, improvements to the plumbing and the removal of decaying lifeboats.

There was another major change: in 2021, the city of Long Beach took full control of the Queen Mary. "Our emphasis ... is to stabilize, maintain and improve the ship," Johnny Vallejo, the city's deputy economic development director, told The Long Beach Business Journal in June. It's a work in progress, with more renovations and upgrades in the pipeline, but since April the ship has been open again for tours, and guests can book staterooms and suites.

The Queen Mary has now been in Southern California longer than she was at sea, and it's estimated that 50 million visitors have made the trek to Long Beach to see her up close. "We want the ship to be the crown for not just this site, but for the city," Vallejo said.

Meet the heart of the Queen Mary

Commodore Everette Hoard and the Queen Mary were meant to be.

Growing up in Alabama, Hoard was far away from the bustling Port of Southampton and New York Harbor. That didn't stop him from becoming fascinated by the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, and he asked his father, a Navy veteran, to draw him pictures of the liners. "He used to say, 'Son, these are the finest ships in the world,'" Hoard told The Week.

After high school, Hoard was working as a hotel bartender when his dad surprised the family with a trip to California to stay at the Queen Mary. It was Thanksgiving 1980, and for the next week and a half, Hoard took every tour, ate in every restaurant, and walked every inch of every deck. "You couldn't drag me off the ship," he said.

When his father asked if he wanted to stay, Hoard was quick to say yes. "I could see myself working here and actually enjoying something I did," he said. A few months later, it happened: Hoard's father announced he was retiring, and the family moved to Long Beach. Hoard found a job in one of the shops, and has been with the Queen Mary ever since.

As commodore, Hoard gets to share the Queen Mary with visitors, taking them on tours and regaling them with stories of her past, present and future. The ship is "a singular reminder of the entire golden era of ocean travel," he said, and has "a soul. You can hear her stories. She's still telling them."

What is it like to stay on the Queen Mary?

Spending the night on the Queen Mary is like taking a step back in time. The suites and staterooms are original to the ship, giving guests a glimpse into what it was like to journey across the Atlantic in the 1930s, without having to worry about rollicking waves or wild weather. The wood paneling makes the spaces feel warm and inviting, and there are port holes that can be opened to let in the ocean breeze (tip: book a room with a harbor view).

The liner has been referred to as the "Ship of Woods" because over 50 types were used to build her, and she retains her Art Deco design, with the Observatory Bar showcasing beautiful metal work and the whimsical "Jubilee Week" mural. You can explore the Queen Mary on your own or on a guided tour — paranormal fans should consider booking the Haunted Encounters Tour — and it's fun to wander the ship and think about who you might have crossed paths with back in the day.

Catherine Garcia was a guest of the Queen Mary