CHRISTMAS 1935: When we're aboard the RMS Queen Mary, the historic ocean-liner that's now permanently at home, forever and ever, in Long Beach, we don't simply consider her epic World War II past or the fact that she's played host to hundreds of dignitaries and movie stars (well, before she hung up her proverbial masts in 1967). We think about what it must have been like to have been at sea over the holidays back in the late 1930s or early 1950s. We think about how beautifully the ship was decorated. We think about where a grand tree might have stood, and if the formal dining room was bedecked in boughs and bows. It had to have been a sight to rival any posh hotel of its day, and the idea of waking up on Christmas or New Year's morning on a ship in the middle of the Atlantic? There's something very romantic about that indeed. The ship still observes the holidays, but in a more modern way, of course. As it is doing again this year.
CHILL! The water-close attraction is certainly having one of its biggest holidays season yet with the introduction of CHILL! Part ice rink, part ice sculpture land, and all Santa, the wintertime attraction puts the emphasis on family fun. How so? The skating is kid friendly, of course, but there's also an ice sculpture of the Queen Mary herself, complete with slide for little ones to go down. If you want a more classic sight of the ship, the tree gets lit on Dec. 13 and will be aglow every night through the holidays. Which go right up to NYE. In fact, we'd call that one of the ship's biggest nights of the year, what with the multiple parties and stay-over specials.
Nope, it isn't the sepia-toned past, or the yuletide circa 1937, but it is the Queen Mary at Christmas. That's a very nice sight.
