The Queen Mary
Where is it? This 1936 cruise liner, said to be crawling with ghosts at every turn, is dry-docked in Long Beach, the port that lies beside Los Angeles on the sun-splashed Pacific coast. Long Beach is one of the most ethnically diverse places in the United States.
Luxurious or basic? It is claimed the 'ghost ship' is the most luxurious ocean liner ever built. Tastefully ornate, she offers almost a square kilometre of space spread across 14 extraordinary art-deco salons, each adorned with warm wood panelling, paintings, murals, brass and nickel-silver fixtures and etched leaded-glass accents. Listed on America's National Register of Historic Places, the Queen Mary is one of the most famous ships in the world. She has carried a host of famous passengers, including Clark Gable, Bob Hope and Winston Churchill.
Who should visit? Anyone fascinated with the age of Prohibition, cocktail parties, flappers and the Charleston dance. And those interested in ghosts.
Which ghosts, exactly? Reported apparitions include those of a drowned boy, a beautiful woman, a slain cook and a young crewman.
Are the ghost claims nothing more than a publicity stunt? This year, American television's Most Haunted team conducted an investigation aboard the ship. The researchers included renowned medium David Wells, parapsychologist Dr Ciaran O'Keefe, historian Richard Felix and the Most Haunted film crew. The sometimes-terrified team reported seeing apparitions and wet, ghostly footprints, among other spine-tingling phenomena. Capitalising on her haunted heritage, the Queen Mary offers several spooky ways for you to meet her ghostly crew. Ghosts and Legends of the Queen Mary is a daily, dramatised, guided show that leads you along cramped walkways and into the yawning forward boiler room. The Ghost Encounters Tour stops off at the new Paranormal Research Centre and has an educational tone, while the Dinner and Ghost Tour caters to curiosity seekers who like to mix eeriness with pleasure.
What else is there to do? The ship has an art gallery, a business centre, a spa, ballrooms and a gym.
What's on the menu? It depends on where you go because the liner has a range of eateries. Sir Winston's won the 2004-2005 Golden Sceptre Award, a prize awarded by the Southern California Restaurant Writers' Association. Sir Winston's offers dishes such as Chilean sea bass, rack of lamb, garlic cheese wonton salad, prime New York steak and seared Asian peppered ahi (yellow fin tuna).
