Here’s What It’s Like to Spend the Night on a Haunted Ship

The last time I sailed from San Pedro, I got in a day early to spend the night at The Queen Mary. After a less-than-ideal travel day (it was during the government shutdown), I FINALLY got checked in around 5:00 PM. 

At first, I was really frustrated that I lost so much time at the hotel. I was initially supposed to land around 11:00 AM, which would have allowed for a more leisurely visit. But it turns out that getting in around 5 PM still gave me enough time to do what I wanted.

So, here it is, my review of what it’s like to spend the night onboard one of the most haunted ships in the world.

Getting to the Queen Mary

First off, if you’re sailing from San Pedro or Long Beach, fly into the Long Beach airport if you can. It’s way smaller than LAX and much easier to navigate. The Lyft from the Long Beach airport to the Queen Mary cost me $41, so not exactly cheap. Could there be a less expensive option? Maybe. But after unexpectedly having to rent a car and drive from Vegas, I didn’t really care.

Now, if you are cruising on Carnival, I have great news for you – Carnival’s Long Beach port is right next to the Queen Mary. Seriously, look at this pic I took from the Queen Mary of a Carnival cruise ship. That alone is probably worth the slightly higher cost of staying on the Queen Mary versus another hotel. 

Bad news if you’re sailing on Royal Caribbean (like me). The San Pedro port is another $50 Lyft ride away. This is something I did not research very well, but honestly, even if I had, I probably would still have stayed at the Queen Mary just for the experience. Getting a Lyft was really easy in all directions; I never waited more than a few minutes for one to show up.

Checking In

I wish I hadn’t been so disoriented when I checked in, because I might have really been able to appreciate it. Instead, my extremely frazzled, sweaty, starving self rolled up wide-eyed and desperate for a bottle of water and a snack (not a whole lot of options on that stretch between Vegas and Long Beach, I discovered). I hurried through the questions at check-in, including verifying that I would not hold the hotel accountable for any ghostly encounters. I think there might be a little bit of a shtick with the check-in clerks, but I was very much interested in just getting to my room.

All in all, check in was a breeze, and they were super nice, even in my frazzled state. They tell you rules, like you have to be quiet at night, and they also let you know that the rooms are not temperature-controlled. Since it was pretty hot outside, I asked for a fan, and they brought one right away.

When you make your reservation online, make sure to sign up for the rewards program, as you’ll get freebies like a bowl of soup, a free coffee, and/or a free cocktail.

Booking A Ghost Tour

Ok, here’s where it gets good. If you are a guest on board the Queen Mary, you can get discounts on all the hour-long tours. The after-hours, extended ghost tours do not offer a discount. I had originally planned on doing the midnight ghost tour, but after the day I had, I knew I wouldn’t be able to stay up that late.

I booked the latest ghost tour possible, which was at 7:00. With the discount, it was $10. This was it! The whole reason for my adventure. I’m a sucker for ghost stories and ghost tours, and this one did not disappoint.

On the hour-long tour, you’ll hear stories of the most famous ghosts that are rumored to haunt the ship, like the Lady in White, who has been seen playing the piano inthe main lobby, and Jackie, a little girl who drowned in a pool. Guests claim to see her in the pool area, which is one of the special areas you get to visit on an extended ghost tour. We just got to peek in the windows. 

You also get to visit the Speakeasy, which is actually open during select times but only if you are “in the know.” I suspect it’s not hard to figure out if you do a Google search, but since I was only there a night, I didn’t bother. 

And then there are the super haunted spots, like the rope locker, which is rumored to be haunted by soldiers from World War II. This room gave me literal goosebumps. I don’t know if it was ghosts, but the horrible stories were chilling. So, just be mentally prepared if you go here. The tour kind of switches from “ooh this is fun and spooky” to “here’s an extremely dark and true story of how a bunch of people died in the most horrific way possible.” 

I don’t want to give too much away if you go on the tour, but just know that you’ll hear true stories that are genuinely sad and tragic. The tour guide did a good job of emphasizing the really sad nature of those stories and the dark reality of the soldiers who were on the ship during World War II. All in all, I felt like I learned a lot on the tour. I didn’t see or feel any ghosts, but I did get a feeling for what it might have been like to be on the Queen Mary back in her heyday.

Sleeping Amongst the Ghosts

I’ll admit, I was a teensy bit nervous about getting a good night’s rest onboard the Queen Mary, especially once I learned I was staying on the most haunted deck, Deck B, but I was out cold. I just got a standard stateroom because I didn’t care about having a window. I was, after all, about to go on a 4-night cruise on board The Quantum of the Seas. 

So, there isn’t really an interesting story here. They do have some more haunted state rooms that you can stay in, but those are, of course, way more expensive. You’ll also have to deal with tour groups walking by your room regularly. Room B340 is allegedly the most haunted room on the ship, and room M119 is where Winston Churchill used to stay. Legend has it you can still smell cigar smoke. I didn’t smell anything, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true.

Touring and the Rest

A really cool thing about staying on board the Queen Mary is that you get to tour the rest of the ship at your leisure. In the morning, I woke up pretty early (not hard after passing out around 9:00). I got my free coffee from the cafe, found a spot with good Wi-Fi reception to do some work and take a few client calls, then wandered around the ship for a few hours. 

This ship has a ton of history, from being the ship of choice for celebrities to being in movies, to serving in World War II, and now existing as a living museum. This would have been a dream for my 12-year-old Titanic-obsessed self. I felt like I was going to run into Rose and Jack at any moment. The ship was really quiet on Sunday morning, so I was able to navigate it easily and without any crowds.

I didn’t eat at the main restaurants. Instead, I just got some food from the cafe. I ended up eating the same thing for dinner and breakfast – a breakfast burrito. It was massive and filling, and at $10, pretty reasonable compared to eating in the main restaurant. (Y’all know I’m cheap with food when I already paid for my cruise fare.)

Bottom Line

If you love history and/or are traveling with history buffs, it’s worth visiting the Queen Mary museum at least. I think it’s worth staying at least one night just for the experience. But after doing it once, I don’t feel the need to do it again. The next time I cruise out of San Pedro, I’ll probably either stay in LA for the night or just stay right by the San Pedro port. 

As for whether she’s really haunted, I think that’s up to you. There’s a lot we don’t know about the universe, so there could be ghosts. I think the ghost tour did a good job teaching us about the history of the ship and the people who died on it, rather than sensationalizing the events. 

Have you had any ghostly encounters on board the Queen Mary? Let me know in the comments or on Instagram @the.seauite.