Historic Luxury Liner In Danger Of Sinking Financially
Queen Mary bankruptcy, Long Beach, LA landmarks
By Kevin Wilkerson, PubClub.com Publisher
The Queen Mary is under water again.
Financially, anyway.
God save the Queen (Mary)!
The Long Beach landmark – the Hollywood sign of that LA city within the city – is in danger of sinking from its berth. The company that operates the Queen Mary, Singapore-based Eagle Hospitality Trust, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy declaring more than a $500 million debt.
“Queen Mary bankruptcy” seems to be a headline every other year. The one-time luxury liner is now a hotel and somewhat attraction in the southern Los Angeles city of Long Beach and it’s expensive and difficult to maintain.
Management companies have tried, holding Scottish games and other events on the lawn in front of the ship, touring informative tours about her great history (which includes serving as a vital troop carrier in World War II), plus having costume theme parties and Sunday champagne brunches on board.
There have also been grand plans to build an amusement park around her called Queen Mary Park, and to include a former Soviet submarine moored next to her.
But none of these things have been able to save the Queen.
So now what?
That’s difficult to predict. Will Eagle Hospitality keep trying to operate her as a hotel and attraction? And if so, will it have any money to invest in the ship as well as the marketing and public relations to support new and existing projects?
Will a new buyer emerge with fresh ideas and the money to bring them to life?
Or will the once grand lady’s last orders simply be “abandon ship.”
Only time will tell but if someone (or some company) can’t save the Queen, then Long Beach won’t be the same without her.
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