The Observation Bar

We saw a ghost here!!! Just kidding. We saw NOTHING except for a bunch of food we wanted to try, but couldn’t because we had dinner reservations somewhere else already. We did have a couple of drinks though. Make sure you dont ask for it to go or they will jip you like half your drink but charge you full price. how do I know? Because our first drinks we ordered to go and the bartender put them in little plastic cups… later on after dinner we went back before heading to the room and ordered to stay in the lounge… regular size glasses which held a lot more drink and same bill amount. That’s how I know. Lesson learned.

The number on your site for «more information» was answered by Danielle, who rudely told me «I can’t help you; I’m just the bartender. You’ll have to call the operator.» When I asked «May I speak with a manager?» she said there is not one available and again told me to call the operator. I was hoping to host a group of 50 people on a Monday night coming up, but not if this is any preview of the hospitality we could have expected.

We were staying the night there on the boat so we didn’t have to pay the fee to get in … So I understand why the negative reviews … If I had to pay to get in and drink I wouldn’t be very happy either. But we didn’t so this review is based on that. Great atmosphere and nice views… And we went during happy hour so the prices were pretty reasonable. It was fun being inside a very old and elegant bar… We had a good time

Sadly, the bar is no longer accessible to anyone just wanting to get a late night drink… that is unless you want to pay for a daily ticket ($ 27) or get the SoCal pass ($ 25 for a year). The SoCal pass is not a bad deal if you come here more than a few times, but honestly, just the idea of being forced to purchase this to get into the bar turned me off on the idea completely.
Some of us visit the Queen Mary just for the Observation Bar, but sadly, those days are over. One of my favorite things to do was take out of town family and friends to the Observation Bar for a unique experience, but not anymore… not at $ 27 a person for only a few hours at the bar.
But I get it, businesses need to make money. My advice is that they at least go back to the dining voucher so people who just wanted to walk around on the ship for «free» will pay a fee and those of us who just want to drink and eat can use that fee towards drinks and food.

Disappointed that you must now purchase a ticket to use the restaurants and bars. I came to have dinner and some drinks and was disappointed that was not an option without a $ 30+ ticket. Too bad :(

Having drinks and snacks at the Observation Bar is a real treat and a step back into another era. The overall Art Deco fell is very charming and reflective of a special time, reconnected by being there. Happy hours are best for reasonable prices.
Great views of the harbor and Long Beach. We enjoyed just being there. Fun.

I recently went to the Queen Mary for the first time. Upon buying our ticket for entrance we received a free drink voucher with our purchase. The bar was set up nicely and I enjoyed my time. The only problem I had was how old and beat up the glass paneling was on the patio outside. I sat outside to try to enjoy the views, but could hardly see through the glass. It kind of defeats the purpose of having an outside patio in such a beautiful location if you can’t see out. Overall an enjoyable experience

My family is saddened by recent actions by the Queen Mary.
It is $ 31.00 to get ON TO the ship, and that is not good toward a meal/​drink purchase. They used to have a $ 25 voucher to get on the ship that was good toward drink/​food at the lounge, which we happily used. We popped in yesterday 4÷21÷16 and at the front when asking to purchase the voucher as we had before, they informed us they do not do that any more and that it’s now $ 31.00 to enter the boat, and then the regular full bar prices on top of that. Absolutely terrible, we walked away. Thankfully left the parking lot before being charged the parking rate.
The voucher made sense, this new system is just bad for business.
My mother is heartbroken as she would visit the ship to have a drink and some food and then visit the wedding chapel where she and my father were married 35 years ago. She feels cheated by the Queen Mary and is afraid policies such as this will lead to its demise.
Long story short, the bar itself is a good 4 – 5 stars for style, service, and drinks (last several times I was there), but this policy is terrible.

Worst experience in a while.
Went there Sunday and I was shocked at the lack of everything in this bar.
First of all, most tables were messy, some didn’t have chairs, it seems like they just gave up. We finally were able to find some chairs and we sat down. The menu is not great, but each item is priced at about $ 14, so we expected for the appetizers to be decent. We waited on a server and after 15 minutes of no one coming to our table, I ask the bartender if I can place an order with her and she said no, I have to be seated at the bar to do so, so at that point I went in search of a server and asked to order food and drinks. 20 minutes later we get our drinks, 30 minutes later we get one of our items, the nachos, which were horrible. The table next to us was talking amongst themselves about how they let this place go, they were complaining about the price of their appetizers and how terrible it looked and tasted. I saw them and they were served on paper, as if you were ordering the food from a ball park or some cheap taco truck, not at a place where they want us to believe is upscale and therefore should be paying $ 15 per drink. I decided to wait and after 40 minutes of waiting I cancelled the food and decide to leave. With so much competition in Long Beach, I decided to take my business elsewhere, at least some place where they care about the customer.
This place is terrible, the service is terrible and it is shocking because the place was empty. It is funny how at the time when I going into the Queen Mary, an employee said it is the last day to «take advantage» of the yearly pass which is only $ 19. I now know why, who would go more than 1 time per year? Or again after visiting once? The food and drink options are terrible. No point to go there at all, I went once and I will probably never go again. Nothing there to take me back. This place looks like they have given up and no matter how frustrated the service staff looks, the bottom line is yes the food is terrible, maybe the kitchen is located at the other side of the ship and that is why it takes forever, but also there is no attention to detail. Most people sit down and expect for a server to come by, but in this case the staff can care less about the customer. However I will say the bloody mary was good and the beer was cold, and that is the ONLY thing that was ok. I gave this place 1 star but only because I could not give it a 0.

This review is more for our waitress and the food itself rather than the bar/​restaurant overall.
According to our receipt, our waitress’s name was Kimberly. I hope that is correct. She was WONDERFUL. Not only did she handle our actual order and refills quickly and efficiently, but she went well above and beyond. I asked some extra questions regarding the food (the sliders had these amazing pickles speared on top and I wanted to know what they were called) and what was probably a weird request (the paper they use under the fries is a mock newspaper, and I asked for a clean paper for a project my son is doing in English), and she went out of her way to ask the kitchen staff to accommodate us. She definitely deserves a shout-​out for being great!
The sliders were excellent. Grilled perfectly, with tons of flavor. The perfect size as well, a serving of three was perfect for myself and my son to share. The Queen Winders fries were also great, with two sauces that complimented them perfectly. They are a little overpriced, but that’s to be expected when on the Queen Mary.
The restaurant itself looks rather sad. Rather than looking like it’s authentic to the original, it looks like no one has cleaned or cared for it in the last 80 years. Even the parts that have been painted look like someone slapped the paint on, and the chairs are worn and warped.

At my girlfriend’s last birthday I brought a bunch of our friends to have a chill time on the Queen Mary. Honestly the service and drinks were wonderful. I had quite a bit to drink for the occasion, picked up the tab, put some cash down and asked the rest to be on my card. So they brought me the receipt to sign, I wrote a tip based on the amount charged, our friends parted ways and we went home. Next day I look at my statement and the server had taken the $ 70 cash as her tip, charged the full bill to my card, and I had written a tip based on THAT amount, so she essentially got a double tip. Now I can see where she may have thought I’m just super generous, but I called up the management for Observation Bar several times trying to straighten this out. Left several messages and they were never returned. Not a single message or reply, and I feel completely taken advantage of. Watch yourself at this place, they will take advantage of their tipsy patrons!

Dear QM,
In response to your reply to my first comment:
I am not going to pay $ 8 for parking (with validation) and then be further obligated to pay $ 15 minimum (per person). You didn’t used to require that in the past and I don’t get why you started doing it now. You replied to my last review saying that it was normal, however, it is not normal for those who just want to get a drink at a bar. Fine for people who want to have several drinks but what about the designated driver who is not hungry? Also, there is NO option for parking other than paying in your lot so you could at least make it more affordable (ie $ 3 – 5 with validation) and 1 drink minimum. You are losing out on locals business by forcing people to pay for parking and $ 15 minimums. If you want to serve only hotel guests and out of towners and don’t care about locals, then I guess leave it as is…

The bar itself is simple, and lightly stocked. The bartenders aren’t advanced by any means and the cocktails, well, like i said, the bar is simple, so you’ll want to keep your drink choices all in the same. Everything is a bit over-​priced, but that should be no surprise, you’re drinking on a huge historical boat! Unfortunately, that is the only real reason to ever come here. Ambiance.

Stayed on the ship the nights of ²⁄₅ & 2÷6÷16. Stopped by the Observation Bar for a couple of nighcaps on ²⁄₅. Thankfully the jazz quartet that was playing stopped after a few minutes as they thought they were playing at Dodger stadium given the volume they had it turned up to. Almost made my ears bleed. Rather than order another round when they finished their break we left as we didn’t want to endure any more of their noise.
We stopped by on the ²⁄₆ hopping to have a nightcap, however the same jazz band was back at it so we didn’t bother going in. Unfortunate as it is a very nice bar with excellent drinks!

Awesome service we loved David the bartender! Great drinks and the ship is fun at night.

Been waiting for 45 minutes for nachos which i find a tad silly. The staff seems super unprofessional and people were getting served before us. They didn’t give us any napkins as well which us fantastic while eating nachos. Bar tender also didn’t want to let me order food from him — he directed me to use one of the 2 waiters who were swamped. Dont go here on a sunday

Nostalgic spot with average late night bar food and drinks. Service not the most friendly.

I really Loved this place, the drinks, the ambiance the live music and the view. I returned yesterday, but to my surprise there was a $ 15 charge per person just to enter the boat. I explained I was only going to the restaurant, but she said «sorry, I think it’s a rediculous fee too».

To begin with I pretty much grew up around this ship, born and raised as a Long Beach native. I remember coming here as a little kid when the ship was still grey (on some parts) with my dad and my siblings, lol. With that said, the Queen Mary represents home when I see her. Its what I have seen my whole life. I brought my boyfriends brother from out of town to visit the ship back in August, he loved it! We had such a good time, we came back tonight with a friend for drinks (which we rarely go out and drink) EVER. Our waitress was sweet, thank you Lina/​Lena! She kept the drinks coming. One star off for the RUDE asshole who thought we were laughing at his grandma (who we thought was drunk the grandma, apparently she was in pain. Hope she’s ok.) and tried to start some drama. We just thought she was having a good time. His friends/​family stopped anything from happening, but grow the F*** up and have some self reverence you SOB! I and my friends rarely go out, because we are hermits and the last thing we needed was some «I think I am tough as***** with tattoos.» to try and start some s***. We decided to go out tonight, after going to a memorial today losing a close friends mom. We really didn’t need that bull****.
Overall nice bar, MOST of the time it’s quiet and has a nice relaxing atomosphere. The bartender and waitresses are usually sweet and welcoming. As a local, I loving hanging here with my family from out of town, or a basic date night. But we dropped a good 100+ on drinks only to leave and feel insulted after a night going good, I should have gone to management and gotten them booted, I seriously didn’t want any issues.
PS wrote this after having 3 of those yummy passionate affairs and spending quite some cash on drinks while being pissed off my night turned a bit sour due to some loudmouth.

After my last review, we were invited back to give them another chance.
They did not disappoint!
Because of our last experience, Queen Mary management comped us a few drinks an appetizers at the Observation Bar. The drinks are well crafted and the appetizers were perfect.
This time, the Dark Harbor event was much better organized and not oversold. The wait times for the mazes were much shorter and we were able to go through all of them and still have time walk around and enjoy the rest of the event.
We had some yummy food and got to watch the Slider Alley and Fire breathing show. The spinning swing ride from Neverland Ranch is a must as well.
The paintball game was meh. We were expecting to gun down monsters like Rambo, but it was more like target practice. I’m sure it’s a lot more fun for kids.
If you have a poor experience, let them know. They definitely care about your experience.

Very disappointed in this place. The service is absolutely horrible! When I ordered a margarita our waiter gave me this rude look then asked to see my ID. He never came by again after our drink order, he was horrible.
We wanted to order food and more drinks so each time we had to get up and go to the bar to do that.
We ordered chips and salsa and BBQ wings. They were both good-​average.
Later on about 9:30pm we came back because my boyfriend just wanted to buy a cigar. Apparently they didn’t have a cutter so the bartender cut it with a knife and did a terrible job but was kind enough to offer him another. My boyfriend cut it himself this time and it was perfect. He then asked for matches, they didn’t have any or any lighters. He told us to go on the patio and ask around for one. Absolutely ridiculous, a place that sells cigars but no matches.

I have been so good to this place over the past six years. I’ve gone to Dark Harbor every year since they have started it… I’ve done their ghost tours & psychic tour so many times I’ve lost count… & stay the night a few times a year. I am so upset by they way they treated me & my guests that I refuse to spend another dime on that place. What a HUGE disappointment this has been.
We booked a $ 250 dollar room for Dark Harbors opening night & was completely disrespected by their miserable bar ‘manager.’ I am a Store Manager in the beauty industry & GUESS WHAT! ! I would NEVER be so rude & kick any of my customers out of my store because it’s «ALMOST» time to close! You know what you do? You suck it up & you treat them with respect as you would If it was two in the afternoon! BY THE WAY! Why are you closing 45 minutes before actual closing time (midnight) ON OPENING NIGHT?! Huge opportunity to make good money! Things that make you go HMMM! There’s a reason establishments have business hours. STICK TO THEM!
This used to be one of my favorite places to stay & visit. WHAT HAPPENED?! Our night & experience was ruined. This has left such a bad taste in my mouth, I will not be returning.
GET IT TOGETHER!

Four stars for the ambience and cocktails! The lounge is perfect for enjoying a drink and enjoying the view. We had the kettle cooked chips which were delicious but the wings were sent back. Unfortunately they tasted like Tyson frozen wings.
Service was friendly and did not rush so if you’re looking for a quick bite this is not your spot. Come here to relax and enjoy the view and the pleasure to know you’re on the Queen Mary!

Very cool art deco bar — one of the signs says it was a first class lounge in the 1930s while in normal operation. I loved being here simply for the fact that it is such a historical place. The view was also great from anywhere that you sat — the patio is a bit awkward, but still amazing. The bartender was prompt and friendly, they have some food items as well. We stayed at the Queen Mary hotel, but this place alone is worth the visit. They have old fashioned cocktails, beer and wine.
For me this was probably a once in a lifetime stop, although I did love it, I wouldn’t want to pay to come back. You can go anywhere in the ship while staying at the hotel, but if you are not you have to pay depending on what you want to do or see. I’m toured out of this place, but recommend you go once!

Forget the Ghost Tour– come here for the ultimate Spirits experience.

The Observation Bar located in the Queen Mary is a real nice hang out. It’s pinky finger fancy for the Queen Mary and prices are a tad bit higher than some bars. But I can guarantee you will be thrilled with the ambiance, location in the ship and the view.
It has been a while since I’ve been here, but I doubt the Queen Mary has made too many changes in the ship.
The Observation Bar is a great spot to meet up with friends if you’re ever in the area or plan to tour the Queen Mary and make this your final stop for the evening/​night.

This bar offers overpriced drinks and mediocre food in a simply wonderful venue! It reminds me of amusement parks where the captive audience has no choice but to pay for and consume whatever is available.
I came here with many other Steampunks for the annual HRMSS, and my girl and I ducked into this bar to get a quick bite and a drink. The bar itself is simply magnificent! Everything from the ornate brass decorations to the gorgeous stained wood to the cool lighting took us back to the early 1900s, and we fit right in due to our retro attire.
We sat down and ordered a few drinks. I like how this bar offers a retro drink menu complete with the history of each drink, along with a more modern drink menu. We also ordered a couple of items to snack on. Our server seemed very busy, but she still managed to serve us promptly. The drinks were tasty, but not memorable. What was memorable, however, was the fact that one of the pita triangles that came with our pita and hummos, literally cut my gums! This is because they deep fry their pita chips (or buy a deep fried brand) rather than baking them, which makes them extremely tough and makes numerous sharp edges when chewing. I immediately stopped eating the pita chips to let my mouth recover.
I may return for a drink if I’m already on the Queen Mary, but I won’t be eating anything here again.

House cab is moderate for 8 bucks. Bartender is super friendly. Phenomenal music from the era of the ship. Aesthetically beautiful art deco style with an amazing bar. Outside seating with an unsurpassed view. Food available, and any drink you want. I would love to come back with a group when they have live music!

The drinks here are vast enough to find something for everyone. Although just a smidge pricier than I would expect, still good, and fun view to be out on a boat in the water, but without the motion sickness.
Success.

August 2011, yes, this long overdue review was too, part of our Queen Mary experience!
Upon entry, you are immediately transported back to the days of Art Deco
& Art Nouveau
with ambiance so authentic, you are charmed and embraced by the decadence of that time.
After getting aboard the ship for free as posted in my Queen Mary review
and saving $ 30 a piece, we were not at all phased by the prices of our cocktails & appetizers as they were well worth it.
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The bar upon entry is presented to your left and seating inside & out are seen from every direction, greeted by a hostess & host, with a smile and welcomes as you are escorted to your table, and promptly a server arrives to inform you of drink & appetizer specials, along with bar eatery fare with the accommodating nature and a sincere smile as you are told to please let them know if you need anything to make your experience here more memorable.
Appetizers:
Top Deck Kettle Style Potato Chips-​A cone filled, netted carriage insulated with heat saving waxed paper contained there in a very large amount freshly seasoned & still warm with Paprika & Turmeric, add a side of their house bacon dressing and this is all we needed to compliment our cocktails and end our afternoon.
Ship Made Kettle Style Potato Chips-​Fresh, still warm & seasoned with grated Paprika and grated Turmeric after they were sprayed with silky smooth Mediterranean Market-​Picked in Italy Virgin Olive that was brought to us by our server, to be sure we were okay with that type of olive oil; a combination well constructed that turned what normally would be a hum drum appetizer into a delight to savor-​$ 8
Toss in a:
1Top Deck-(Kettle One substituted for Grey Goose) Le Citron, Fresh Lemon Juice, Cucumber, & Basil, for MP-​$ 12
1 Sea Salt rimmed Gold Cadillac Margarita-(Origin 1940s Ensenada, Mexico) Casadores Resposado Tequila, Cointreau, with Fresh Ecuadorian Lime Juice for Marty-​$ 12
And, you have MP behaving like his female idol:
But seriously what you really have, is the perfect afternoon decompression from a very wonderful day and, enjoyed in a very wonderful & authentic place: