Art Auctions

[Bronx12]

Any art auctions recently on Freedom of The Seas, we are sailing in February/2012, personally, I like the art auctions. After all the complaints, I actually emailed one of the artists we collect, he said the works of art we purchaesd are legitimate and he would certify them.:)

[jewopaho]

It sounds like a lot of people on this post were not Art Auction Fans. My wife and I were loyal Park West customers and when we did B2B Cruises earlier this year and found that Art Actually had replaced Park West we thought we'd give them a chance. "BIG MISTAKE" hated the art they pushed the "Olive" artist so much about 1/2 the art put up was his we couldn't stand it. They did occationally put up a Peter Max which was nice to see, however they do not have their own CC which was nice with PW since we could buy and make payments interest free for 12 months. I wasn't about to put a $6K purchase on a personal CC and have to pay it off in 1 month to avoid interest. It was the first cruise in 5 years we didn't purchase a single piece of art. We are B2B this January and if Art Actually is on the Mariner out of Galveston I guess we'll have a lot of extra time since we will not be attending any Art Auctions.

FYI ... Royal Caribbean and Holland America terminated their relationships with Park West in 2010, and are currently in litigation over matters of authenticity. PWG is no stranger to the courts. Art Actually is an in-house program being initiated by Royal Caribbean, similar to Princess' model. My guess is that once they acquire sufficient inventory, the auctions will return to all RCI ships. They're a significant source of revenue.

 

The works (truly 99.9% of which are reproductions) of artists such as Godard, Max and Kinkaid are all over the oceans ... lithographs, seriographs, giclee, hand-enhanced ... call them what you wish ... and they're certainly available elsewhere. It makes absolutely no sense to relegate any valuable work of art to a cruise ship. The number of pieces by these prolific producers is just too plentiful (and ever-increasing) to have any investment value ... but if you like them, and are comfortable with what you paid, enjoy viewing them. Just don't expect them to help send your grandchildren to college one day.

 

Al

[tahqa]

Any art auctions recently on Freedom of The Seas, we are sailing in February/2012, personally, I like the art auctions. After all the complaints, I actually emailed one of the artists we collect, he said the works of art we purchaesd are legitimate and he would certify them.:)

Sorry, as of last month there were no art auctions on the Freedom of the Seas.

[Rala]

So I take it that all of the "special sales" that often block the middle of the promenade are a problem as well? Should we get rid of those too?

 

As a matter of fact, if you sail during Christmas, there is this giant tree that blocks the entire aft portion of the promenade and it really makes it hard to get around. Hmm....maybe that should go too.....

 

Comparing apples to oranges here as the sales and the tree don't talk (hawk) non-stop for a couple of hours (or longer). If people want the auctions, that's fine, but as a previous poster said have them somewhere where only those interested have to hear them (like bingo), which BTW was another apples to oranges comparison since I have never heard or seen a bingo game unless i wanted to. Not so with the "art" auctions. Again I say...keep them out of the Centrum. They are annoying if you are not interested !!

[jewopaho]

Comparing apples to oranges here as the sales and the tree don't talk (hawk) non-stop for a couple of hours (or longer). If people want the auctions, that's fine, but as a previous poster said have them somewhere where only those interested have to hear them (like bingo), which BTW was another apples to oranges comparison since I have never heard or seen a bingo game unless i wanted to. Not so with the "art" auctions. Again I say...keep them out of the Centrum. They are annoying if you are not interested !!

I agree ... but it's probably not going to happen. Just about every one of these events (at least from my experience) has been conducted in an open area, irrespective of the cruise line. They're looking for the, "Hey, what's going on here?" response from passing passengers. I guess it works.

 

My hope is that Royal Caribbean will structure its program similar to that on Princess. We attend occasionally (actually learn something), there is absolutely no pressure to buy, and they shop the market, guaranteeing the lowest available price (for what that's worth ... you've got to figure in the 15% buyer's premium and $100 shipping ... but the cost of framing locally can offset these). Our one purchase in over 50 cruises was under $200 delivered ... the frame is easily worth that. Unlike Park West, the literature clearly states that no guarantee of appreciating value is expressed or implied ... buy it because you like it and can afford it.

 

A bit off-topic ... we actually had the opportunity to meet two artists at local events because of our exposure to their works onboard. We found Peter Max aloof, disinterested and a bore. By contrast, Alexandra Nechita (look her up ... 26 years old, and critically acclaimed as one of the world's great artists ... her originals sell in the high tens of thousands, and up) was absolutely amazing ... she actually got down on her hands and knees to work with children attending the event. We found her charming, engaging and enthusiastic ... we couldn't imagine Peter Max getting his pants dirty.

 

Our last cruise was on Carnival, still affiliated with Park West. We didn't even attend the auctions ... got the initial feeling that the "art director" was a real hustler, which was confirmed by his mannerisms. If he was that way at the introductory presentation, imagine him in a situation where his livelihood is at stake. So I guess my point is, if such events are conducted in a refined manner (as opposed to a dog and pony show) they could be at least tolerable ... but I certainly appreciate the thoughts of those who prefer not to encounter them at all. Of course, it's all about the bottom line ... isn't everything these days.

 

Al