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Do That Many People Buy Artwork Onboard?


jhannah
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Park West reports about $300 million in sales a year. They are on more than 100 ships. Figuring 100 ships, that's $3 million in annual sales. Figuring 7 day cruises at 52 weeks, that's $57,692 per cruise. And those numbers are based on all of Park West sales being made on ships....which they're not. So, $57k is a very high estimate.

 

I find it very highly improbable that $1 million in sales on a single cruise is "not unusual."

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You can print out that quality on a decent ink jet printer. They are essentially worthless. Of course you could take one of them and have it professionally framed for a few hundred dollars...and then you would have a worthless "printer quality" print in a decent frame :).

 

Hank

Why would I?

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You may notice that I posted that $1,000,000 in sales is "not unusual" on mass market ships.

 

 

...

 

"Not unusual" means "usual". There is no way $1,000,000 in art sales on a mass market cruise ship itinerary can be "usual". As Aquahound pointed out, $57,000 would be a high average.

 

 

The notion of one or two somebody's with "a lot of money to burn" bringing sales to that level is laughable. People furnishing a new house and being in the position of being able to spend the necessary (by your arithmetic) tens of thousands to decorate are NOT going to do it while sailing on a mass market cruise ship.

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"Not unusual" means "usual". There is no way $1,000,000 in art sales on a mass market cruise ship itinerary can be "usual". As Aquahound pointed out, $57,000 would be a high average.

 

 

The notion of one or two somebody's with "a lot of money to burn" bringing sales to that level is laughable. People furnishing a new house and being in the position of being able to spend the necessary (by your arithmetic) tens of thousands to decorate are NOT going to do it while sailing on a mass market cruise ship.

 

I agree. They will hire a decorator, not shop for art on a ship. Come to think of it, does someone with "a lot of money to burn" sail on a mass market line?

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I agree. They will hire a decorator, not shop for art on a ship. Come to think of it, does someone with "a lot of money to burn" sail on a mass market line?

 

You would be amazed...because we have been! We have met quite a few wealthy folks on our longer HAL cruises...most of them booking the larger Suites. As one who is a student of the cruise industry I will often ask why they are cruising on a mass market line instead of going on one of the more luxury lines such as Crystal, Seabourn, Sea Dream, etc. On HAL the typical response is that they have been cruising with HAL forever and like the line. The irony is that when we have been on more upscale lines we have met many normal folks (that would also be us) who were simply splurging on a higher priced line.

 

I like to tell the story of the first time we cruised on Carnival. We had booked a Christmas cruise with Regency Cruise Lines which went bankrupt 2 months before our cruise. Since I had promised my DD (about 11 at the time) a Christmas cruise I immediately called a good travel agent for help. She called me back in a few minutes and said the only cruise that had space was a Carnival cruise. When we got aboard that ship we quickly made friends with another family. The patriarch told me that they normally cruised Seabourn...but preferred Carnival at holiday time....when they brought the Grandkids

 

So you never know who you will meet on HAL. On the Voyage of the Vikings cruise (this past August) the wife of Carnival Corps CEO...was cruising for the entire 38 days...on her own (her husband was working). She could have gone on any cruise she desired....but chose the Rotterdam :).

 

Hank

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I have not been to an art auction in at least ten years. Many lines don’t have them, never did.

When we used to go I was suspicious some of the “buyers” were set up people. Trying to give newbies the impression that they were getting once in a lifetime deals. Trying to get the bidding going. Bidders pretending to be “gallery owners”. Were these buyers legit?? I have no proof either way.

Cruise lines also run targeted promotions, free cruise fare with a minimum onboard purchase of art.

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I agree. They will hire a decorator, not shop for art on a ship. Come to think of it, does someone with "a lot of money to burn" sail on a mass market line?

 

Booking the high end suites on a mass market line is like getting all the upgraded options in a Honda Civic. ;)

 

But that said, yes, I've seen celebrities on a couple cruises. I remember John Travolta sailing on a 4 nigh RCI cruise a few years ago.

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Our last cruise was on Celebrity in February. We stood in the back and watched an art auction one afternoon while we were waiting for one of the shops. A piece sold for $28k ... the next for $11, and another for $19 ... quite a few others sold in the $300-500 range. We couldn't believe it ... but it happened. One women bought most of the art, and man!, was she being plied with champagne & attention!

We have frequently seen pieces being sold for several thousand dollars, but never anything like that ...

We like to lurk & smirk in the back ...

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We will know when people are not buying artwork or when the margins are too low for either the auction firm or the cruise line. That will be the day when you notice there are no on board art auctions.

 

Until then, I think it is safe to assume that people are buying and the margins are good.

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Your suspicions were correct. Some of the onboard auctioneers are famous for recruiting shills that sit in on the auctions and attempt to boost the bidding.

 

You are also correct about the onboard promotions. Several of the mass market lines sponsor "Art Cruises", much like the Casino Cruises. The bigger spenders are given free cruises (usually in suites). The ship increases the number and quality of artwork for these cruises, and invites several of the artists, who give seminars, sign autographs, and create custom artworks for special buyers.

The buyers who get the free cruise must purchase a minimum of $150,000 in art per year to qualify.

On Emerald Princess in 2014, a 10-day Art Cruise had $2.3 million in sales; possibly an industry record.

On that cruise, there were 43 comped cabins, including 5 artists. 38 couples received a free cruise after purchasing $150,000 (or more) in art from that particular vendor in the previous year.

 

In 2006, HAL had a Senior Management Conference for Senior Officers in Miami, Florida. One of the evenings was sponsored by the owner of Park West Art Auctions. About 200 officers and staff were transported to his massive estate in West Miami.

We had a spectacular catered formal dinner around the pool, followed by a private concert by Gloria Estefan. It was the highlight of the conference.

 

How could he afford something like that, and why would he spend that kind of money on HAL officers?

 

Thanks for the follow Up! Very interesting.

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Our last cruise was on Celebrity in February. We stood in the back and watched an art auction one afternoon while we were waiting for one of the shops. A piece sold for $28k ... the next for $11, and another for $19 ... quite a few others sold in the $300-500 range. We couldn't believe it ... but it happened. One women bought most of the art, and man!, was she being plied with champagne & attention!

We have frequently seen pieces being sold for several thousand dollars, but never anything like that ...

 

I've observed a few of these "auctions". Most pieces that are sold are sold for the starting value. I don't think I've ever seen any pieces actually "bid up" by more than one person at a time wanting it. BTW, if something does catch your eye and you want to buy it, wait until the end of the cruise when they hold a "rapid fire sale" and things go for a fraction of what they were selling for at the beginning of the cruise.

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I read a book a few years ago called Cruise Confidential, or something like that. The author was a waiter first, and then got a job as an art auctioneer. He claimed on some cruises the art sales equaled or passed the revenue of both the casino and the bar departments.

 

That would not surprise me at all. While I've never attended the Art Auctions, other than to stop by during them for a couple of minutes to see what was going on. I was intrigued and taken by a painting hanging on one of the walls of the hallway during our SA/Antarctica cruise in 2015. It was on the hallway to the main dining room and so I ended up passing it generally once or twice a day. I would stop to admire it and eventually worked a deal with Park West to buy it. I've had it appraised since then and I got a very good deal, but still paid several thousand $$ for it. So at those prices how many do you have to sell to pull in a bundle.

 

It now hangs in my foyer and I see it every day as I go up and down the stairs. I don't regret buying it one bit.

 

And they shipped it to me later, there was no way I was carrying a painting that is probably 45" x 60" off the ship.

Edited by drowelf
grammar
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