Cruise by the Queen Mary's Christmas Shows

Was this the year that you and the family finally decided to take that cruise you'd been discussing for, well, ever?

Spending the season on the seas is a tradition for many people, though most of us find ourselves landlubbed as the holidays draw near.

There's so much wrapping, and school-play-ing, and relative-visiting to be done, and heading out onto the waves for a whimsical jaunt isn't always in the Christmassy cards.

What can be in the cards, though? Finding a celebratory, on-the-stage spectacular that happens to be A) on a famous ocean-liner but B) an ocean-liner that isn't leaving the land it sits snugly alongside.

It's the Queen Mary we speak of, and its annual Holiday Dinner Show, which is opening for a multi-night run as we enter the final stretch to Christmas.

The "song and dance review" is billed as being the kind of experience you'd find on a cruise ship, and that it will take place in one of the funnel-topped landmark's historic salons only ups that cruise-tastic feel.

There's a three-course meal to enjoy while you watch the festive follies, and guests should expect to hear a host of classic tunes from the gussied-up performers.

Plus? The Queen Mary happens to be at peak decked-out-a-tude, so you'll be able to snag some tree-close snapshots and other pictures of the ship in her holiday finery.

Tickets and such? Sound the horn: You can find them here, as well as other details about this lively and lovely Long Beach tradition.