*The QM actually contacted me about these pictures and said they were forwarded to their security team. I took down the post then realized what was done was done, so here's the post again.*
I finally got to see the pool! The ship originally had two; one for first class passengers (this one) and a smaller one for second class passengers. Apparently the second class pool got ripped out some time ago and when the engines were removed from the QM, the floor of this pool became unstable because the engines were right beneath it. So it's been off limits ever since.
I've come to the ship a few times and have never seen it so it was kind of a big deal for me. The main entrance of the pool is so metal deco with 'pool' spelled out in thin letters above a circled awning that is accessed on the main floor. The double doors were blacked out so you couldn't even see the pool from the outside. Such a tease.
(He NEVER got into the pool. We all stopped him very quickly.)
The ship has new ownership and it's said that there is bigger security, but we got to the pool pretty easily by taking some emergency exits and propping a few doors open. I think it's kind of like an Easter egg. You know, like the ones you find on DVDs. They say its not there, and you are not supposed to find it, but if you go the right way, you get there with no hassle. Use that analogy or the one of it being like a video game. I think either will work.
Don't get me wrong, the experience was fantastic. The room is practically untouched, so it's like traveling back in time. The room smelled of musty water, most likely because that part of the ship was under water. There were no windows, and the tiled pool even had a slide.
Can't you just hear some music playing as people walked on both levels and swam in the the pool. The attendant handing them their clothing and then the passengers changing in the back changing rooms. So glamorous.
We also traveled back into the changing rooms. It's said that part of the ship was haunted. We didn't see anyone but then again it was very hard to see. The space was very dark, so we used the glow from our phones to light the way. Those and the flashes of our camera did all the work as we joked about this being the set up for every bad horror movie.
After that we just roamed around the ship for a while. That was fun. We kept low on the radar just in case, but I think the ship security kinda knew we were there. That's just me, though. :)
(An old elevator in a closed part of the ship. Gotta love that the attendant seat is still there.)
For the QM team who may see this post. We were not the only group down there. As we got there, another large group was leaving :)
I've never seen the pool. I hope that one day they might be able to re-enforce the pool and restore it to it's original glory. It might take a whole lot of engineering, but I bet it would be a great thing for their publicity and have a lot of draw if they could get it done.
ReplyDeleteI also had no idea the Queen Mary event was this weekend! Doh!
ReplyDeleteI love all the pictures of the pool. You can just see it in your heyday. Someday I hope to make it out to the west coast to see the Queen Mary in person.
ReplyDeleteIt was a small group this year, no more than 15. But I had a blast. The walking tour (previous post) was one of my favorite parts.
ReplyDeleteI got to stay aboard the Queen Mary summer of 2009, when Convergence 15 was held in Long Beach. It was an absolutely delightful weekend, and the wooden promenade deck had some of the best acoustics I've ever experienced for singing. It seemed as though my voice was just ringing off the walls. :)
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Hopefully they take it as a hint that people would like to see it!
ReplyDeleteI second what Rueby says. Maybe the security team should open up the pool for future tours.
ReplyDeleteBoy are people full of it...why would they consider this a security breach? I could understand if it was under construction and it was dangerous, but jeez louise! Sorry, I'll stop ranting now. That is really cool that you got to see the pool!
ReplyDeleteJust came across this - and I know it's probably a little late to chime in.
ReplyDeleteIf you have to find your way to the room by a series of emergency exits and doors through which you aren't supposed to go, it is most definitely a security breach. It's a place you aren't meant to be for two reasons- first, because it's one of the very few places left that only people who pay to go on the tour (thus supporting the ship's history program) get to see, and secondly because the pool (also my favorite place on board) really is one of the most dangerous rooms in the ship; the slippery and unrestored nature of the environment puts folk prone to falls (especially in vintage, leather-soled shoes), and any tumble into the 8-foot-deep tile pool resulting in injury would be a terror to recover the injured person from and transport to shore for proper treatment. I know everyone says it won't happen to them, but it will happen to someone eventually; I see people hurt themselves walking across perfectly safe dance floors at vintage events all the time, and I'd hate to see it happen in the pool.
My wife and I just lectured on 1930s Transatlantic Fashion there May 27th for the 75th anniversary of the ship, and they were definitely on serious lockdown from "unfortunate, damaging events" the weekend before; They didn't say what they were, and they may have been cause by people not you, but the access to guests of the ship was severely limited because of it. Many who flew in from England to tour the ship their family built and traveled on had to make do with truncated tours because the Mary's staff still hadn't catalogued the damage that had happened the week before.
I mentioned as always that I'd love to see the pool area reenforced so it could be used by hotel patrons, but the new company that's taken over the QM indicated it'd sadly take more money than anyone wants to spend. I did enjoy that the Travel Office has once again been restored and opened for viewing, and the lifeboats are showing serious progress, so let's see what happens with Her Majesty in the future.
Out of the group of people who went, only three of us had never been to the pool, most of us were staying on board the ship the entire weekend, and we had all just had dinner with a group of 15, so I think we paid our tour fee.
ReplyDeleteOne person interviewed for a position on the ship and said the pool area was used as a shortcut for staff to get to and fro, and another former ship employee said people go there all the time for brakes. If Im a 'security breach' then the QM is obscenely lax at enforcing it.
I take offense to you lumping me in with the "unfortunate, damaging events" group. Sorry I didn't lecture on Transatlantic Fashion, but that does not make your patronage of the ship anymore highbrow than mine.
The only reason this whole kerfuffle started was because of these pictures I posted on this blog, period. People were at the pool before our group, tour-less, and they came in after we left (saw some). This would have gone on as it was, and you know that, if I had not shined a light (and I think one of respect and homage to the area) as I did.
To say that people could not see the 'locked down' parts of the ship during your talk because they were finally locked down, and blaming me for that spins my head. It would have been fine for your group to go and visit those areas at your leisure, but because I did and the QM finally secured the areas that they should have done a log time ago, after my little blog post, I'm the problem? I'm laughing at your double standard.
Keep your ship, I'll keep my money. I'm sick of being demonized for this.
I really think the owners of this ship should try to raise funds or wait a few years to file for a Gov grant to get the funds to give this boat a complete restoration. The swimming pool could be used for many movies by studios such as Paramount Pictures, Warner Brothers, Baddboyfilms, Lookeebox Studios, Universal Pictures , Sony, Disney Pictures and others but not in the condition it's in as unsafe as the place looks.
ReplyDeleteUnless I'm getting my family lore wrong, I actually traveled on this ship as a child... well baby actually. My family moved to England while my father was working on the Trans Atlantic Cable back int he 1950's and the company (General Electric, I believe) paid passage for us to travel in style. I probably swam in that pool! MY favorite story: one evening my mother wore a lovely blue gown to dinner and she received a note on a silver platter from the captain, that said, "You look very beautiful tonight."
ReplyDeleteAnyhoo.. love your blog♥
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