Bloomberg/Business Week Story - Art Auctions at Sea

[brino99]

wow, I'm surprised that prints go that high. I've bought a few Wylands, and that aren't that high unless they are really large and are on unique surfaces and/or embellished. I'm no fan of PW, but back when it was Princess Fine Arts (by Princess) the Wyland prints were a deal... especially when framing was included. I don't know if PW is that good. The 2 times I've cruised with PW in charge, I've not seen a piece that caught my eye. (nor enjoyed the auction) If I buy, I'd just go to the gallery and negotiate.

 

Interestingly, we went to the gallery and negotiated a price, yet they wanted us to go through the whole auction process. I agreed to do it only because I had never sat through an auction on a cruise ship. It took them 2 hours to do what probably could have been done in much less time, but they wanted to give everyone there a chance to "rethink" their position on the some of the paintings they were pushing to sell, especially their overpriced Peter Max sets.

 

Princess/Park West did bring the Wyland paintings out on the last day of the cruise. I can't remember what they were selling for, but they weren't cheap. They put them in the gallery afterwards in case anyone changed their mind as none of them sold during the auction.

[BLS]

On a recent Emerald sailing we attended our very last Art Auction. We found the Art Staff to be very VERY pushy. The Auctioneer actually told the audience that unless they had a bid card they should leave!!!!! that was the last straw for us.

[brino99]

On a recent Emerald sailing we attended our very last Art Auction. We found the Art Staff to be very VERY pushy. The Auctioneer actually told the audience that unless they had a bid card they should leave!!!!! that was the last straw for us.

 

Although some of the folks on our Princess cruise showed some Used Car Salesman tendencies, they never told anyone to beat it if they weren't buying anything, so I guess it depends what ship you are own and what staff you have from Park West.

 

We are sailing on Celebrity in two weeks and I am going to see what kind of price I can negotiate on the painting we already bought. Should be fun :).

[JohnS43]

Not to go too far off topic, but are there any cruise lines (perhaps some of the more upscale ones) that don't feature things that are generally considered either ripoffs or otherwise sleazy? In addition to art, I'm thinking of things like jewelry, questionable spa treatments that purport to offer health benefits, teeth whitening, etc.? Many of the things I see on ships would probably be either illegal or unethical in the U.S., but presumably they are exempt from our laws while at sea.

 

I think I'd gladly pay more for my cruise if I could avoid a lot of the hucksterism that seems to be rampant on Princess, Carnival, and NCL (the three lines I've traveled on most recently.)

[goldfada]

I think I'd gladly pay more for my cruise if I could avoid a lot of the hucksterism that seems to be rampant on Princess, Carnival, and NCL (the three lines I've traveled on most recently.)

 

Cruise ships are like department stores. It's all about sales per square foot. If you decide ahead of the cruise which onboard promotions you're willing to consider, then you'll hardly notice the rest.

[jeromep]

I think that the "shopping show" that they have on the fist sea day is a ripoff. I think that they charge $15-$20 to go, and they give you coupons and a list of "guaranteed" shops to shop at where you will get the best price. All this is is a list of stores owned by the cruiseship, or stores that pay a very large fee to the cruiseline to be featured. It seems like only first time cruisers fall for it, though

 

Shopping shows are always newbie traps, and a number of years back my DW and I took the bait and went to one. We didn't spend or loose a dime, but we knew about 10 minutes in that we were wasting our time. I'm lucky, DW isn't into jewelry and if she does want something it is generally only from a local jeweler that we have dealt with before.

 

There are just too many horror stories from other cruisers about jewelry sold on-board and in port for me to even consider wasting my time looking at what is being sold. The same goes for art and art auctions. I don't vacation to shop, I vacation to get away from regular life (not that regular life is bad) so the less I see and deal with things that are already available to me in regular life, the better.

[Fuzzyape]

No fight here Aussieflyer. We just ignore the auctions and enjoy some of the other venues.

 

I'm with you tailspin. Honestly, and I'm sure one day I'll regret it, I don't pay much attention to the announcements. Yes I know I'll miss the one that says the ship is sinking, then you can all say that you're not surprised :).

 

We have bought art from these auctions (though not recently). What we've purchased wasn't a rip off (as we've purchased other items from the same artist on land at the same price). I'm sure the stories are out there.

 

Counting down the days!

[TriumphGuy]

So now I have a lovely picture that reminds me of my sister every time I look at it. I had it nicely framed for about $40 and it's worth every penny to me. It would've been worth it to me if I had paid the $75 too, but whatever.

 

This^^^^

Art is worth what you think it's worth to you. If you like it, buy it, if you don't, don't.

To me, buying art as an "investment" is a fool's game.

[JF - retired RRT]

Not to go too far off topic, but are there any cruise lines (perhaps some of the more upscale ones) that don't feature things that are generally considered either ripoffs or otherwise sleazy? In addition to art, I'm thinking of things like jewelry, questionable spa treatments that purport to offer health benefits, teeth whitening, etc.? Many of the things I see on ships would probably be either illegal or unethical in the U.S., but presumably they are exempt from our laws while at sea.

 

I think I'd gladly pay more for my cruise if I could avoid a lot of the hucksterism that seems to be rampant on Princess, Carnival, and NCL (the three lines I've traveled on most recently.)

 

Yes. Viking, Regent, Oceania, etc.

You get what you pay for. On the more upscale lines, they don't have all that hoopla because you PAID not to have it. :rolleyes:

[azdmelani]

I am just off the Regal. The reason there were art auctions in the piazza is that there were "connoisseurs" on the ship (or so said the Park West employees).

 

Since our cabin was forward on the ship, we often walked past the gallery and I liked some of the items, so opted to check out the auction on the last sea day. I'm elite and have never bought art on the ship before.

 

A framed picture spoke to me. And another couple. I was told one prebid price and thought about it, then decided to bid. Since the other couple also bid on it, my price was lowered by $40 (not a one of a kind piece).

 

I had an appointment with PW that night- shipping and framing was included in the price. I was told I saved $1000 off the price. I did not opt for the $35 appraisal to tell me I saved $1000. If I like the artwork and it makes me happy when I look at it, then it was worth the cost. Here is hoping all works out when I receive it within 12 weeks.

 

 

Just wanted to add that I received my artwork last week (about 5 weeks after disembarking the ship) and everything was as promised.

[JimmyVWine]

Just wanted to add that I received my artwork last week (about 5 weeks after disembarking the ship) and everything was as promised.

 

 

I'm curious. (Not is a cynical, confrontational way. But in a honest, "would love to hear about your experience" way). In the 5 weeks since your purchase, have you shopped the internet (or elsewhere) to see if your "not a one of a kind" piece was available from other sellers, and if so, whether the price on the ship was well below market price? Are other sellers actually charging $1000 more for the same item?

[LarryL]

I'm curious. (Not is a cynical, confrontational way. But in a honest, "would love to hear about your experience" way). In the 5 weeks since your purchase, have you shopped the internet (or elsewhere) to see if your "not a one of a kind" piece was available from other sellers, and if so, whether the price on the ship was well below market price? Are other sellers actually charging $1000 more for the same item?

 

We just returned from our Star cruise and did, in fact, purchase some art at the auctions. After our first experience, my DW decided to do some research on the artists. She had heard of Peter Max and, maybe another. What she found was that the art we had purchased was, in fact, below the market prices she was able to research. I think, in light of all said here, we are happy with what we purchased and that is really all we care about. Yes, they are very fast moving, but in all fairness, they did take the time to discuss their knowledge of what they were selling, the artists backgrounds, and art in general. They did seem to know their product.

 

The only thing they did try to upsell was for frames on two prints we bought which were frameless. We did buy one and not the other. They said OK and moved on.

 

If I find myself in a position where I was scammed, I'll report back. We are, by no means, art experts. We just saw some works that fit in our home.

 

On another note, they only offered champagne on one occasion, and we "won" a bottle. We shared the bottle with our tablemates and it wasn't half bad.

 

We've had more intense sales pitches after a massage. ;)

Edited March 6, 2017 by LarryL

[JimmyVWine]

Thanks for the report Larry.

[azdmelani]

I'm curious. (Not is a cynical, confrontational way. But in a honest, "would love to hear about your experience" way). In the 5 weeks since your purchase, have you shopped the internet (or elsewhere) to see if your "not a one of a kind" piece was available from other sellers, and if so, whether the price on the ship was well below market price? Are other sellers actually charging $1000 more for the same item?

 

 

Great question, and much appreciated. I did search this artist. It seems she paints an original canvas that she sells directly and the remainder are reproduced, numbered and sold by PWG. Kind of hard to gauge a market for it when there are only two sources to purchase. The artist does have unframed reproduced artwork for sale on her website. By the time it is shipped, and framed I think the cost would be similar to be what I paid on the cruise. I dont think I saved $1000 truthfully, but I was not looking for resale/collection value, just something that would look great in my apartment. Makes me smile when I look at the print, so mission accomplished.