Thanks for keeping us updated Alex. When I first heard she might be scrapped, I got this horrible feeling in my stomach. I'm so glad she has been saved.
I spent the Thursday and Friday nights after Christmas at the Queen Mary Hotel, then checked out and came back that same Saturday evening (I live in Long Beach, and this was a couple of days of staycation) for an Art Deco dance with Alex Mendham and His Orchestra. The ship was decorated for Christmas, it was festive and very very busy. Looks like they're getting a good deal of business from people leaving on a Carnival cruise who spend the night at the QM hotel before they embark on their cruise. The tours also looked well-attended, and the Observation Bar was packed on Thursday and Friday nights (live music both nights). Very fun couple of days!
I recall a moment on the bridge at sunset early this month by myself, and tears came to my eyes. You could feel her soul. It was like she was thankful for you being aboard. I was super thankful for her successful reopening and the fact that I was able to stay aboard. I'll definitely be back because she wants me to come back. It's so hard to explain unless you climb aboard yourself and listen to what she tells you.
I’m from San Pedro California. The community/district across the canal from Long Beach, California. Anybody who visits the queen Mary especially ship history enthusiasts. I highly recommend you pay a visit to the Maritime museum in San Pedro. The queen Mary was also used to film the movies ghost ship and the promenade deck scenes in James Cameron’s Titanic.
They certainly were not! James Cameron built a 7/8 scale model of the Titanic for filming. Scenes for the 1979 movie S.O.S. Titanic were filmed on the Queen Mary
When setting aside the ghost and haunt stories, the history of the Queen Mary is Remarkable! How the QM help Win the War along with being a beautiful Ocean Liner. Long Beach truly has a Gem! Thank You Alex for sharing, Happy New Year 2025
Another great vid Alex! You have always been a champion of the Queen Mary. Omitted her first almost doom. QM ran aground in the river Clyde while moving from the shipyard to the sea. Had the many tugs not been able to push her off the bank she would have broken her keel and been a total loss before she had sailed a mile.
Excellently done! I had no idea the ship was involved in so many "world events" during her career at sea. Your video certainly sheds light on a great history.
Nothing like a "Vintage Steam" video be it ship, railroad or steam powered equipment. All ships no matter the size has a heart and soul. Thanks to Alex for all the work, time and effort he puts into his channel. Again thanks, I am looking for forward to another year of your fine work.....
I have this superstitious idea that the people who built her during Great Depression were so happy and passionate about having a job and doing the work they loved that it gave her the spirit she has now.
Thank you, Alex. Another very well done commentary. I appreciate your research and the care you take to bring not just the facts, but the heart of Queen Mary to us.
She is an amazing ship with an even more amazing history which most people are totally unaware of. Being on her is like stepping back in time.....she is mostly original inside, which makes a stay on her now something very special. The father of a friend of mine went to WW2 on her, then after a period as a POW, returned home safely on her!! She has also carried many famous people including Winston Churchill. Thank you Long Beach for saving the Queen Mary. I have stayed on her twice and aim to do so again in the future.
Absolutely fantastic. Great video. Best one I’ve seen on the queen Mary. Another question. Do you know if you will be doing anymore yea time stream coming up or in the new year
With her recent refurbishments establishing a trend of making money when the ship is invested in it's likely to be beloved for generations to come like the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty.
Hell yea, love your queen Mary documentary’s, I genuinely don’t think most people understand the importance of this cunarder, she is quite literally the unsinkable ship, the queen herself in person, she has defied odds, survived war, defeat Mother Nature herself, and a nazi bounty, she has split warships in half, beat the Great Depression, beat the take over of the airliner, I mean everything, such an important piece of history, I just wish America treated there flagship like they treated Great Britain’s
Yes the Queen Mary really has a character of her own, it's so good to hear that the ship is still profitable, hopefully she has a successful future ahead of her
Did you know that a famous book writer Pual Galico Was on board the Queen Mary when the 2cd wave hit. This inspired him to write the Poseidon Adventure which was later turned into a movie in 1972
With how good of shape she's in today, the Queen Mary has a really good shot at becoming the first ocean liner in history to exist and prosper for 100 years (give or take the 30 years of neglect).
The queen Mary has had a long and at times a very hard life and she shouldn’t have survived some of the events that happened to her but I’m so glad she can enjoy her retirement at long beach and always remember she may not be in active service but a part of her lives on in Queen Mary 2 her iconic horn!!
Please tell us more about the proposed german superliner "TS Victoria-America"...a 5 screw 330.000 shaft horsepower monster intended to climb up to speeds of 36 knots.
Hi Alex, in one of your past streams or just regular videos, you had mentioned that a wall with quilted maple had to be replaced on the Queen Mary. Why was it replaced? Like, was it damaged or what? Or did someone, like, mess it up? Or what was going on at that time? Also, I know I asked this before, but I had completely gotten it wrong. But you know, if there are any photos of Queen Elizabeth's corridors, I couldn't find them. And before, I had accidentally said staircase instead of corridor.
I don't remember what i had said about the quilted maple wall. If I knew what area of the ship, I could provide more context, because many areas of the ship have water damage and need panel replacement. As for the QE, I don't have photos of her corridors but I know they exist somewhere.
@AlextheHistorian well, I was finally able to find one photo it is similar to Queen marys but a little different. Also, the floors had a checked pattern
I'm curious, if you (Alex) could speculate on another aspect of the Queen Mary's publicity/public image that had, as best as I can recall, began to take hold at least by the mid-1990s, that being the 'Grey Ghost's" reputation for having ghosts? Let me elaborate a bit more; in the mid 90s, (for a few years at least,) the Queen Mary began hosting a "Haunted Ship/Ghost Ship" tour during the Halloween season(s), of which I had attended one of those years. The tour was presented in similar fashion to a typical Halloween haunted house tour, i.e., fake monsters jumping out of dark places, scenes of horror decorating passageways, etc. However, this was not/is not the historical steamship's only association with ghosts (so to speak.) The RMS Queen Mary would steadily become a prime location for paranormal investigations by "ghost hunters." Being that more and more of these ghost-hunter television shows were featuring the RMS Queen Mary as an episode location, whether you believe the ship to be haunted or not, to what extent would you speculate that the Queen Mary's haunted reputation and exploitation has contributed to the public interest in preserving the ship, or at least give more public awareness of the ship?
@@AlextheHistorian How much do you think the Queen Mary's haunted reputation has contributed to the public being aware of her existence and possibly her condition/situation of being in need of saving?
@@skyden24195 I'd say her haunted reputation garnered only a small portion of the awareness of her condition. While there are a great many paranormal enthusiasts who fell in love with the ship, from what I've seen on various comments sections of videos related to the ship's paranormal "investigations"...the majority of the viewers don't know and don't care to know the significance of the ship. Their interest usually terminates where the origin story of a ghost begins. And if the ship had been permanently closed and scrapped, the sense of loss would have been minimal. Oddly enough, the majority of the awareness and the subsequent public support, came from the multitudes of misinformed news articles detailing that the ship was going to capsize. Those headlines that grabbed people's attention were an intentional misinterpretation of something an inspector said on his report, but he never indicated that the ship was going to capsize, he just warned that 5 more years of neglect "could" lead to the "risk" of that outcome. But those headlines shocked the western world, and it shined a spotlight on the ship. The problem was that many of those people who were now made aware, and started to care about the ship, had NO means of finding up-to-date information on what was being done to save the ship. There was no news media covering the positive aspects of saving the ship, the news made it sound like there was no reason to save the ship and that all we could hope for was a speedy demolition or scuttling. My TH-cam channel provided that ray of hope. I presented the facts, as reported on public documents and inspection reports. I showed people how and why the ship should be saved. I have no idea if my videos had anything to do with the City's decision to save the ship, but when the City talks about why they decided to do so, they often mention the "new-found public support"...and I can't help but think that public support would not have been as amplified, if it weren't for my channel.
I love this ship! I first went in the 90s when there was a Titanic artifact exhibition on board. Was last there a few months ago and wore a suit and fedora the whole time. People even asked if I was a ghost I looked so period correct 😂
Wait, Alex, so you know how for abbreviations like RMS or HMHS, they always have the S in them for ship? I find it weird that HMT doesn't have the S in it, like HMTS. And HMT still stands for His Majesty's Troop Ship. And also, what does HMS stand for?
The reason you're confused is because "Troopship" is one word, not two. So HMT stands for His/Her Majesty's Troopship. HMS stands for His/Her Majesty's Ship. HMS is a title normally reserved for Royal Navy vessels. The monarch of the United Kingdom is also commander in chief of the military, so naturally, the Royal Navy ships belong directly to the monarch.
It’s insane in that one picture you have of queen mary with that modern cruise ship next to her, a photo of 2 different worlds and ships, she’s so beautiful compared to that cruise ship made of glass and what not, her black and red paint scheme, those 3 funnel’s she stands out like no other, hand built and riveted together by the sweat of thousands of men, that cruise ship just doesn’t compare, no not a single bit
Great to hear she is at last doing well Fianancial and looking great. Pity no one is trying to do the same with the united States such a sad thing to sink her 😞 I am a volunteer on a far smaller but also very well loved ship the MV Balmoral and I know how hard it is to keep her well maintained and she is only just over 200’
Thanks for keeping us updated Alex. When I first heard she might be scrapped, I got this horrible feeling in my stomach. I'm so glad she has been saved.
Thanks Alex for all that you do!
It's my pleasure Dan! Thank you so much for the Super Thanks!
Great narration. I can hear the enthusiasm in your voice.
Thank you!
I spent the Thursday and Friday nights after Christmas at the Queen Mary Hotel, then checked out and came back that same Saturday evening (I live in Long Beach, and this was a couple of days of staycation) for an Art Deco dance with Alex Mendham and His Orchestra. The ship was decorated for Christmas, it was festive and very very busy. Looks like they're getting a good deal of business from people leaving on a Carnival cruise who spend the night at the QM hotel before they embark on their cruise. The tours also looked well-attended, and the Observation Bar was packed on Thursday and Friday nights (live music both nights). Very fun couple of days!
That sounds fantastic! It's great to see the grand old lady still bringing in the crowds and the parties.
I recall a moment on the bridge at sunset early this month by myself, and tears came to my eyes. You could feel her soul. It was like she was thankful for you being aboard. I was super thankful for her successful reopening and the fact that I was able to stay aboard. I'll definitely be back because she wants me to come back. It's so hard to explain unless you climb aboard yourself and listen to what she tells you.
The Queen Mary does have a specialness above all the other steam liners. She has spirit! Great video Alex! 😊
Thank you!
@@AlextheHistorian Your welcome ☺
I’m from San Pedro California. The community/district across the canal from Long Beach, California. Anybody who visits the queen Mary especially ship history enthusiasts. I highly recommend you pay a visit to the Maritime museum in San Pedro. The queen Mary was also used to film the movies ghost ship and the promenade deck scenes in James Cameron’s Titanic.
They certainly were not! James Cameron built a 7/8 scale model of the Titanic for filming. Scenes for the 1979 movie S.O.S. Titanic were filmed on the Queen Mary
When setting aside the ghost and haunt stories, the history of the Queen Mary is Remarkable! How the QM help Win the War along with being a beautiful Ocean Liner. Long Beach truly has a Gem! Thank You Alex for sharing, Happy New Year 2025
Happy New Year Jaime!
Another great vid Alex! You have always been a champion of the Queen Mary. Omitted her first almost doom. QM ran aground in the river Clyde while moving from the shipyard to the sea. Had the many tugs not been able to push her off the bank she would have broken her keel and been a total loss before she had sailed a mile.
You have great memory! Yes I forgot about that. And again 1949 she was grounded on a sand bar near Cherbourg.
Congrats on your part of saving the Queen Mary!
Thank you!
@@AlextheHistorian You're very welcome!
Excellently done! I had no idea the ship was involved in so many "world events" during her career at sea. Your video certainly sheds light on a great history.
Thank you! I'm so glad the video was able to show you something new to you.
Nothing like a "Vintage Steam" video be it ship, railroad or steam powered equipment. All ships no matter the size has a heart and soul. Thanks to Alex for all the work, time and effort he puts into his channel. Again thanks, I am looking for forward to another year of your fine work.....
Thank you so much! Happy New Year!
@@AlextheHistorian Happy New Year back to you and your family and friends.
I have this superstitious idea that the people who built her during Great Depression were so happy and passionate about having a job and doing the work they loved that it gave her the spirit she has now.
Makes a lot of sense! I wouldn't doubt it
She really has defied all odds hasn’t she? What an amazing lady!
Thank you Alex for the work you have done to help save the Queen Mary!
It's been my pleasure!
Wonderful video on a MUST- designate World Heritage Site 🌎 ❤🇬🇧🇺🇲⚓️
Thank you!
Thank you, Alex. Another very well done commentary. I appreciate your research and the care you take to bring not just the facts, but the heart of Queen Mary to us.
Oh my gosh, thank you so much. Your comment brought a smile to my face!
Well done Alex! Thank you for all the history and updates.
You're most welcome!
We will be spending the night there in late February, and I cannot wait! Thank you so much for getting me interested in this lovely ship.
You're welcome, and I hope you enjoy your stay 😊
She is an amazing ship with an even more amazing history which most people are totally unaware of. Being on her is like stepping back in time.....she is mostly original inside, which makes a stay on her now something very special. The father of a friend of mine went to WW2 on her, then after a period as a POW, returned home safely on her!! She has also carried many famous people including Winston Churchill. Thank you Long Beach for saving the Queen Mary. I have stayed on her twice and aim to do so again in the future.
Another great video Alex!!
Thank you Richard!
Great Video. Hey everyone, hit the like button!!
Yes
Wow, nice video 👍
Thank you so much!
@ you’re welcome 👍
Absolutely fantastic. Great video. Best one I’ve seen on the queen Mary. Another question. Do you know if you will be doing anymore yea time stream coming up or in the new year
I believe i will be doing the next one on January 4th, if so, you will see a notification ahead of time on January 1st.
I really enjoy your videos and narration.
Thanks Conrad!
With her recent refurbishments establishing a trend of making money when the ship is invested in it's likely to be beloved for generations to come like the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty.
I agree 👍
Hell yea, love your queen Mary documentary’s, I genuinely don’t think most people understand the importance of this cunarder, she is quite literally the unsinkable ship, the queen herself in person, she has defied odds, survived war, defeat Mother Nature herself, and a nazi bounty, she has split warships in half, beat the Great Depression, beat the take over of the airliner, I mean everything, such an important piece of history, I just wish America treated there flagship like they treated Great Britain’s
Queen Mary's Survival story is one of the most incredible ocean liner stories.
It really is remarkable how she's still around today!
@@AlextheHistorian it truly is when you think about it, she's one of few ocean liners even around to this day.
Excellent video Alex as always thanks.
I'm grateful you enjoyed it!
Yes the Queen Mary really has a character of her own, it's so good to hear that the ship is still profitable, hopefully she has a successful future ahead of her
Beautifully said!
The Queen deserves to live!!
Did you know that a famous book writer Pual Galico Was on board the Queen Mary when the 2cd wave hit. This inspired him to write the Poseidon Adventure which was later turned into a movie in 1972
Excellent video!!!
Thanks Mike! Happy New Year to you!
@AlextheHistorian it's Mark. Idk why my channel address is still Mike 😔
@AlextheHistorian Yes Happy New year 🎊
Sorry about that Mark!
With how good of shape she's in today, the Queen Mary has a really good shot at becoming the first ocean liner in history to exist and prosper for 100 years (give or take the 30 years of neglect).
I hope to be present for her 100th anniversary in 2034. It better be a huge celebration!
@AlextheHistorian I hope to go as well. I might bring my whole family too if they're interested.
This was quite enjoyable, completely separate from the audio book.
The queen Mary has had a long and at times a very hard life and she shouldn’t have survived some of the events that happened to her but I’m so glad she can enjoy her retirement at long beach and always remember she may not be in active service but a part of her lives on in Queen Mary 2 her iconic horn!!
Love the Mary!
Please tell us more about the proposed german superliner "TS Victoria-America"...a 5 screw 330.000 shaft horsepower monster intended to climb up to speeds of 36 knots.
Hi Alex, in one of your past streams or just regular videos, you had mentioned that a wall with quilted maple had to be replaced on the Queen Mary. Why was it replaced? Like, was it damaged or what? Or did someone, like, mess it up? Or what was going on at that time?
Also, I know I asked this before, but I had completely gotten it wrong. But you know, if there are any photos of Queen Elizabeth's corridors, I couldn't find them. And before, I had accidentally said staircase instead of corridor.
I don't remember what i had said about the quilted maple wall. If I knew what area of the ship, I could provide more context, because many areas of the ship have water damage and need panel replacement.
As for the QE, I don't have photos of her corridors but I know they exist somewhere.
@AlextheHistorian well, I was finally able to find one photo it is similar to Queen marys but a little different. Also, the floors had a checked pattern
💋
I'm curious, if you (Alex) could speculate on another aspect of the Queen Mary's publicity/public image that had, as best as I can recall, began to take hold at least by the mid-1990s, that being the 'Grey Ghost's" reputation for having ghosts? Let me elaborate a bit more; in the mid 90s, (for a few years at least,) the Queen Mary began hosting a "Haunted Ship/Ghost Ship" tour during the Halloween season(s), of which I had attended one of those years. The tour was presented in similar fashion to a typical Halloween haunted house tour, i.e., fake monsters jumping out of dark places, scenes of horror decorating passageways, etc. However, this was not/is not the historical steamship's only association with ghosts (so to speak.) The RMS Queen Mary would steadily become a prime location for paranormal investigations by "ghost hunters." Being that more and more of these ghost-hunter television shows were featuring the RMS Queen Mary as an episode location, whether you believe the ship to be haunted or not, to what extent would you speculate that the Queen Mary's haunted reputation and exploitation has contributed to the public interest in preserving the ship, or at least give more public awareness of the ship?
I have schizophrenia, so its difficult for me to follow along with compound questions. If you could reword it more concisely, I will try to answer.
@@AlextheHistorian How much do you think the Queen Mary's haunted reputation has contributed to the public being aware of her existence and possibly her condition/situation of being in need of saving?
@@skyden24195 I'd say her haunted reputation garnered only a small portion of the awareness of her condition. While there are a great many paranormal enthusiasts who fell in love with the ship, from what I've seen on various comments sections of videos related to the ship's paranormal "investigations"...the majority of the viewers don't know and don't care to know the significance of the ship. Their interest usually terminates where the origin story of a ghost begins. And if the ship had been permanently closed and scrapped, the sense of loss would have been minimal.
Oddly enough, the majority of the awareness and the subsequent public support, came from the multitudes of misinformed news articles detailing that the ship was going to capsize. Those headlines that grabbed people's attention were an intentional misinterpretation of something an inspector said on his report, but he never indicated that the ship was going to capsize, he just warned that 5 more years of neglect "could" lead to the "risk" of that outcome.
But those headlines shocked the western world, and it shined a spotlight on the ship. The problem was that many of those people who were now made aware, and started to care about the ship, had NO means of finding up-to-date information on what was being done to save the ship. There was no news media covering the positive aspects of saving the ship, the news made it sound like there was no reason to save the ship and that all we could hope for was a speedy demolition or scuttling.
My TH-cam channel provided that ray of hope. I presented the facts, as reported on public documents and inspection reports. I showed people how and why the ship should be saved. I have no idea if my videos had anything to do with the City's decision to save the ship, but when the City talks about why they decided to do so, they often mention the "new-found public support"...and I can't help but think that public support would not have been as amplified, if it weren't for my channel.
I love this ship! I first went in the 90s when there was a Titanic artifact exhibition on board. Was last there a few months ago and wore a suit and fedora the whole time. People even asked if I was a ghost I looked so period correct 😂
Lol that sounds fantastic!
Wait, Alex, so you know how for abbreviations like RMS or HMHS, they always have the S in them for ship? I find it weird that HMT doesn't have the S in it, like HMTS. And HMT still stands for His Majesty's Troop Ship. And also, what does HMS stand for?
The reason you're confused is because "Troopship" is one word, not two. So HMT stands for His/Her Majesty's Troopship.
HMS stands for His/Her Majesty's Ship. HMS is a title normally reserved for Royal Navy vessels. The monarch of the United Kingdom is also commander in chief of the military, so naturally, the Royal Navy ships belong directly to the monarch.
@AlextheHistorian oh that makes sense
It’s insane in that one picture you have of queen mary with that modern cruise ship next to her, a photo of 2 different worlds and ships, she’s so beautiful compared to that cruise ship made of glass and what not, her black and red paint scheme, those 3 funnel’s she stands out like no other, hand built and riveted together by the sweat of thousands of men, that cruise ship just doesn’t compare, no not a single bit
The real SS Poseidon ;-)
Did anybody notice that Queen Mary have Eyes ? 😂❤❤❤❤
Great to hear she is at last doing well Fianancial and looking great. Pity no one is trying to do the same with the united States such a sad thing to sink her 😞 I am a volunteer on a far smaller but also very well loved ship the MV Balmoral and I know how hard it is to keep her well maintained and she is only just over 200’
I hope to one day take a ride aboard MV Balmoral!