The Queen Mary has for years been a landmark for the city of Long Beach, an iconic ocean liner that acted as a majestic sentinel in the harbor and a popular attraction for tourists and locals alike.
But in recent years the old ship has become a white elephant that needs millions of dollars in repairs just to stay afloat.
Years of mounting financial problems, a pandemic shutdown and much-needed repairs created an uncertain future for the Queen Mary. Financial audits showed the ship was running a deficit and at least one report warned that she was at risk of sinking if she did not receive millions of dollars in repairs.
But now, the 90-year-old ship appears headed for smoother sailing, and financial records show it is finally turning a profit for the city of Long Beach.
On the liner that has been converted into a hotel and tourist attraction, rooms are being booked, visitors are touring the ship and the Queen Mary’s operator said visitor numbers have surpassed pre-COVID numbers, indicating a new, hopefully better, for the famous ship docked in Long Beach Harbor.
But the recent financial shift will do little in the short term to address the hundreds of millions of dollars in repairs needed to keep the ship afloat and open to the public.
The Queen Mary closed for more than three years due to the pandemic and remained closed for much-needed repairs. But once the ship reopened in April, this time under the direction of the city rather than a tenant, visitors began returning in greater numbers. The ship has about 200 rooms and several large rooms that can be reserved for weddings and other meetings.
“Even though it’s been here since 1967, it was kind of a relaunch, a new Queen Mary, if you will,” said Steve Caloca, general manager of the ship under contract operator Evolution.
It was a slow reopening, with just over a dozen rooms booked at the Queen Mary in all of April. But financial records obtained by The Times show that the number of reservations multiplied rapidly in the coming weeks.
As of July, more than 4,300 nights of accommodation have been booked on the Queen Mary, and the ship’s operator has seen at least 3,730 bookings a month since then.
“We reopened after a three-and-a-half-year hiatus, which is good, and we’re making money, which is good,” Caloca said.
The Queen Mary continued to operate at a deficit for the first two months of its reopening, according to financial information provided by the city. However, in June the ship’s income began to exceed her expenses.
According to city records, between June and October of last year, the ship generated more than $12.6 million in revenue and more than $3 million in profits.
It’s not just the ship’s hotel rooms that attract visitors and their cash, Caloca said.
“We were spreading the word that there are things to do here,” he said. “It’s not just a beautiful ship.”
The Queen Mary began offering old and new tours of the 1,019.5-foot ship and hosting events to attract locals, such as $10 tickets on Tuesdays, he said.
There is a games room and renovated observation bar for overnight and day guests, and the ship also installed the Commodore’s Office, where officers are available to answer guests’ questions about the ship.
“We asked: what can guests do now that they’re staying at the Queen Mary? What kind of content can we offer them?” Caloca said. “We can create things for people to do here in Long Beach.”
But the ship also has needed, and continues to need, repairs and maintenance, he said.
Much of the work carried out on the ship has focused on keeping it safe for visitors, as well as regular maintenance such as new painting, flooring and lighting, and the replacement of new boilers and electrical transformers on the ship.
For the Queen Mary, which has been in desperate need of repairs and work for years, turning a profit in 2023 is a significant change in its recent history.
Financial audits of the ship obtained by The Times show that from 2007 to 2019, the Queen Mary continued to experience losses of more than $31 million.
A profit could mean the ship could receive some much-needed TLC to keep it financially and literally afloat.
“When we get excited about money, it’s not like we made a profit,” Caloca said. “We made money, but now we can give it back to the boat we love so much.”
The city of Long Beach took over the Queen Mary in 2021, after becoming concerned that the aging ship was not being maintained. A 2017 study of the ship found that she needed up to $289 million in upgrades and renovations, including much-needed work to prevent parts of her from flooding.
Court documents and inspection reports also found it needed $23 million to keep it from sinking.
Making the ship a profit center for the city has been a challenge for several charter operators, including Walt Disney Co., who have been contracted to operate the ship over the past several decades.
In 2005, Queen’s Seaport Development Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and Long Beach determined it owed $3.4 million in back rent. In 2009, the hotel also had an occupancy rate of around 50%.
Now, the profits made can also be used for new activities and entertainment to continue attracting guests to the Queen Mary, Caloca said.
This summer, operators hope to reopen a movie theater on the ship, which can also serve as a conference room and host other events, Caloca said. Another 100 rooms are expected to open in April.
“It’s not just a matter of ‘let’s fix it so it doesn’t break,’” Caloca said. “It’s also, ‘Let’s fix this and make people want to come.’”
