Queen Mary Interior Spaces

The Queen Mary's interiors were designed in the late 1920s and early 1930s. These were the days when Art Deco was the latest style, largely inspired by the Bauhaus movement started in Germany in the late teens and early twenties where clean unbroken space replaced the lavish carvings and ornate flourishes that once adorned the walls and ceilings of liners built from before the turn of the century until W.W.I. The Queen Mary was built in the Art Deco style but also retained some of the traditional style from the earlier era namely in her many fine hardwoods throughout the ship. 'The Ship of Beautiful Woods' is one of the many names given to her in those days by journalists who toured the ship upon her completion at the fitting out dock.

Queen Mary Promenade Deck Entrance

Queen Mary Promenade Deck Entrance to Shops, 1996

Here is the entrance to the First Class Shops on Promenade Deck. This is where current guided tours of the ship begin, and also where Liners and Queen Mary list members meet for Luncheon once a month. "At the ships bell" means right here. Note the worn condition of the decking here. Although worn, I like it as it is original and shows the ships age in a beautiful way.

Queen Mary Shopping Center, Promenade Deck

Queen Mary Shopping Center, Promenade Deck

This is a view looking forward from the top of the main staircase leading up from Main Deck. This is the First Class Shopping Center and used to house onboard branches of popular shops in the US and Britain. This was popularly known as 'Regent Street' by passengers and ship staff. Among the stores there was also a library and a chapel. This area is located between the first and second funnel hatches. Note that since this photo was taken, the floor has been redone in a pattern very close to the original 1936 one.

Queen Mary Observation Lounge

Queen Mary Observation Lounge

Forward of the first funnel is the observation lounge and cocktail bar. This room affords its occupants a sweeping view out over the bow of the ship and is a centerpiece in the ships architecture. The Promenade Deck once encircled the forward part of this room, allowing passengers an unobstructed path around the front of the ship. This was taken out to add more capacity to the room much to the protest of passengers. This room has changed very little from 1936, and it is still used today much for the same purpose as it was designed for 60 years ago. The painting seen behind the bar, 'The Royal Jubilee Week, 1935' by A.R.Thomson, is original and has been in place since 1936.

Observation Lounge

Observation Lounge

Looking starboard in the observation lounge. Here we can see the rooms extension to incorporate the enclosed circular promenade deck in to the room.

Queen Mary First Class Pool

Queen Mary First Class Pool

Here is a view looking aft of the First Class Pool on the Queen Mary. Located on D deck with this view being taken from the balcony on C deck (known after the war as R deck), the first class pool on the Queen Mary was the most ornate to ever be put on a Cunard ship. Even the Queen Elizabeth's first class pool did not achieve the grand scale that this one does. The pool contained salt water filled only halfway, as the rolling of the ship would otherwise cause the water to spill over on to the deck. I often wonder what it would have been like to swim in the pool while the ship was rolling. The room is heaving to and fro, and the water is responding in an opposite manner. It must have been very interesting.

Queen Mary First Class Pool

Queen Mary First Class Pool

Another view of the pool. Three decks high, from E deck to C deck. Modern safety regulations prevent the current hotel from using this as a pool because there is no shallow end. Disney attempted to combat this by building an outdoor pool on the Queen Mary's fantail where the aft docking machinery was. However it never came to fruition, when it was found that the weight of the pool would not go well with the overall stability of the ship as it is now structurally very different from before the conversion. Note that a pool was installed on the aft of the original Queen Elizabeth in the early 1960s. Also, the entire ship was air conditioned at the same time, as she was expected to sail until 1975.

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