LOS ANGELES : Queen Mary to Begin Charging Admission

Starting today, tourists who want to visit the Queen Mary will have to pay.

Officials are abandoning the ship’s free admission policy because a crush of visitors have spent too little money at the historic ocean liner, a spokesman said. The thrifty visitors pushed up security and maintenance expenses, which pushed down income.

The new admission charge--$5 for adults and $3 for children 4 and older--is a spending minimum, said Joseph F. Prevratil, president of the RMS Foundation Inc., the nonprofit foundation that runs the city-owned ship.

Visitors will receive “Queen Mary dollars” of equal value that can be spent at some of the ship’s restaurants and on its tours and children’s rides.

RMS took over the Queen Mary after the Walt Disney Co. decided last year not to renew its lease. Disney, which charged as much as $17.95 for admission, had lost money on the ship for years.