Carnivals Art Auction...

[southbayer]

Art Auction ? Why would I want to go on a cruise and want to want to buy art ? Am I missing something here ? Maybe a big maybe if it were paintings of carnival ships or beautiful ports perhaps... Or maybe if I were on a no disrespect, a top end total luxurious liner. I don't think most of us want to lug out a big painting along with our luggage when we leave the ship, i know i wouldn't.

 

Art Auction... huh ?

 

What's next, tupperware on board sales ?

 

Beam me up Scotty!

[LMHSRN]

I think you need a little more information.

 

 

The auctions are for "Fine" art. Picaso, Dahli, Rembrandt etc.

 

You do not "haul it off with you". They are shipped to your home.

 

Some very important art/paintings are offered at very reasonable prices. Keep an open mind and attend one of the auctions. I have been on several cruises where the only reason some people take the trip is to purchase art....and besides, they give you free champagne just for attending......

 

Some other artists offered are like, Thomas Kinkade, Peter Max, etc.

[zqvol]

Art Auction ? Why would I want to go on a cruise and want to want to buy art ? Am I missing something here ? Maybe a big maybe if it were paintings of carnival ships or beautiful ports perhaps... Or maybe if I were on a no disrespect, a top end total luxurious liner. I don't think most of us want to lug out a big painting along with our luggage when we leave the ship, i know i wouldn't.

 

Art Auction... huh ?

 

What's next, tupperware on board sales ?

 

Beam me up Scotty!

I agree with you. Why would anyone want to buy art on a cruise, and if you can afford fine art why are you on Carnival?

[CruzinTamela]

and I cruise on Carnival because I WANT to.

[cruisinjules]

Having worked in the retail art market, I am familiar with some of the art at these auctions. Alot of is limited edition serigraphs & lithographs that sell in fine galleries for hundreds, and even thousands of dollars. If you are a collector of Thomas McKnight (www.thomasmcknight.com) for example, whose work I like a great deal, these Carnival Auctions can be a place to acquire some of it at bargain prices. Serious collectors know the value of buying their art in off the beaten path places.

 

I like to buy printings and paintings while on vacation, and if I can aquire a piece I saw last week in a gallery for $2100 at a fraction of that I would be thrilled. What a souvenier to boot! I plan to skip the frou-frou drinks and casinos to find a bargain in the auction.

[idocdlw]

To each his own...I love the art auctions! I go because I was too immature to pay attention in my art appreciation 101 classes when I was a young and foolish undergrad student. Now that I'm (much) older, I find that I appreciate this exposure and education in a relaxing atmosphere...and I'm not being graded. The free champagne and art raffles are a plus...I won a lithograph on my last cruise that I gave to my mother...she loves it.

[DiaDeGuadalupe]

My husband and I went on our first Carnival cruise last Spring. We had heard about the fine art auctions, so we figured we'd go down and take a look. We ended up coming away with 3 pieces that we bought, plus 6 prints that we had WON!

 

We got to see beautiful works by Erte', Chagall, Peter Max, Wyland... And we were introduced to the work of Alexandra Nechita, Michael Godard, and a few others.

 

All of the pieces were shipped to my house within a couple of weeks of getting back.

 

We can't wait to go on our next cruise, and yes, we plan to check out the art auctions again :D

[Kittybork]

I went to the art auction... just to see what it was like. I looked at the offerings and saw several that I liked. I didn't have enough knowledge prior to the auction to know what was a good deal. I watched for a while, got bored, and I left. I didn't even finish the champagne (it wasn't very good).

 

I say, " to each his own." Why argue about it. If you're not interested, don't go.

[southbayer]

OK, I read the responses, yeah, to each as own, but i stand by "my opinion", art auction on a cruise ship ? But yeah, for those who go on board for a trip, and who are looking for purchasing art, i can see why being on a ship is preferable to going to some convention center in L.A. or Las Vegas. :cool:

[Chexmix]

I attended my first art auction a few weeks ago on the valor. At first I thought I was crazy for even thinking about it. However, after looking around I found a few pieces i liked. I won two pieces. When I got home I looked them up. I don't much about art but I do know I saved a bundle on what I purchased while on board. With my winning bid I also got a FREE piece of art worth $500. It will be given to my son. Add to the fact that most of the pieces come framed already is a BIG plus. If you have had anything framed you will know the prices I speak of.

 

No its not for everyone. My bf left me there. He didn't like it or the champagne. I will go agian on my next cruise on the Conquest. :D

[Top-Cat]

Apparently I liked the champagne.... :eek: I had a lot of it and they got $450.00 out of me. And I didn't win thing....:rolleyes:

[slabeaume]

If you appreciate seeing great art, you'd appreciate the art auction.

[bostonlager]

I agree with you. Why would anyone want to buy art on a cruise, and if you can afford fine art why are you on Carnival?

You might be surprised.

 

A lot of people with money are wealthy because they shop for bargains, save, and invest- as "The Millionaire Next Door", a best seller of a few years ago, indicates, most millionaires are very frugal. Carnival offers a good cruise for a great price. Sure, I can afford to spend ten times as much and go on a "frou frou" cruise, but why would I?

 

You never know, that guy at the art auction, wearing a ratty T-shirt and sucking down the free champagne might be a multi-millionaire.

 

I know I'll be attending at least one of the art auctions on my cruise later this month- free champagne and a chance for free art on an "at sea" day? Why not?

[travel girl23]

We just returned from a week on Maui (not a cruise) and while we were browsing in an upscale gallery at Whaler's Village and discussing art, the salesperson mentioned that some of the very best art buys are on cruiseships. We had never attended an art auction until our last cruise and actually won a piece of art. Like a previous poster said, it is fun to learn about the different pieces of art without being graded - LOL.

[BillnBobbi]

If you appreciate seeing great art, you'd appreciate the art auction.

 

Actually, if you appreciate seeing great art, then go to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Modern, The Frick Collection, The Guggenheim, The National Gallery, The Hirschhorn, etc.

 

If you like lots of kitsch, some down right awful stuff (anyone notice the "bleeding Jesus" outside the Golden Dining room on the Glory last week?), the churned out assembly-line nonsense of such frauds as Peter Max or Salvador Dali in his last years, or some third rate "landscapes" that look like paintbynumbers, then by all means go to the art auction.

 

Moreover, if you do enjoy some of the paintings, AND MANY OF THEM ARE PLEASANT in a decorative way, then if you decide to buy them, DO NOT THINK THAT YOU ARE PURCHASING ANYTHING OF INVESTMENT VALUE, NO MATTER WHAT THE SHILLS FROM THE AUCTIONEERS HOUSE TELL YOU. REMEMBER THEY ARE SELLING THEM "FOR LESS" ON THE SHIP, AND STILL MAKING A PROFIT. THE RESALE VALUE WILL BE MUCH LESS.

 

The way to make money in the art world on an investment basis can be very precarious and requires a fine eye and a sense of trends. You are much better off acquiring something from a young artist who has not made a name yet, but is an "up and comer". Even then purchase something because you truly like it, not because you think it will put your kids through college at some future date.

 

BnB

[jsaadat]

After evading the art auctions for the past 20 or so cruises we finally sat in on 2 sessions last week on an NCL cruise. Like most of the “give us more $$” programs the cruise lines offer……. A smooth dressed slick talking foreign accented chap was running the show.

I was amazed and how much art was actually inventoried on the ship, they must have had over 500 framed pictures. It appears that this inventory stays onboard and the actual art won at the auctions is shipped to your home from a warehouse somewhere.

I was amazed that a picture with a “VALUE” of $1000 was often reduce to selling for a low bid of $50 or $100. Seemed like an overpriced peer pressure environment to me that also profits from the shipping charges. But I will say that some of the art looked pretty good……. I guess if you know about some of the modern artists you may be able to get a good deal.

[Forchunut1]

Unless you know art and its value VERY WELL, as BnB said, you should go with the idea that you are buying something you LIKE, not because of its investment value.

 

I'm not a big fan of the art auctions but I have gone. Kind of reminded me of the Home Shopping Network. Lots of hype. :D But, there was certainly an opportunity to find something that you would like to hang in your home and enjoy.

 

And yes, the champagne isn't great, but its free. And, there's nothing wrong with free champagne on a weekday afternoon at sea while on vacation? :p

[margaritagal]

We, too, cruise Carnival because we LIKE it! Very well said!

 

We have purchased things from the art auctions. However we buy what we LIKE.....not for investment purposes (we're WAY too lazy to research all that!). I purchased a print last Dec. (once again because I LIKED it). When I returned home, out of curiosity, I checked on the value & it turns out that I got my print for a very good price.

 

BTW, what does cruising Carnival have to do with whether you can afford 'fine art'????

 

Marcia

[southbayer]

Well, I MIGHT buy something, but like i said before, it would have to be associated with my cruise, like a painting of a cruiseship, or a port.. If its a nice looking painting such as that, then it doesn't need to be from a famous artist.... To me, paintings are paintings....:confused:

[NAGooner]

Just to add my 2 cents to the thread :-

 

We didn’t go to the Art Auction, I would have had no idea what I was buying, who the artists were, or if the prints were a bargain; I guess that I would pay up to a few hundred dollars for a print that fits in with our décor at home, but more than that and I would want to know chapter and verse about the artist and picture.

 

A question - are the auctions really for "fine art" or "important art"? Why would Carnival sell limited edition, original signatured, numbered prints or lithographs of well known artists at bargain prices?

 

It strikes me that Carnival will still be making a profit whatever the selling price, and that there is a chasm between the recommended retail price and the wholesale price. I wonder what an art dealer would give you for your print as opposed to what you paid for the print, or what it was valued at - I think that it is called buyer beware?

 

It seems to me that these art auctions are similar to a time sharing sale, or playing the slots - great if that's what you are looking for. but otherwise!!

 

However, If you like attending, if it provides entertainment, if you are happy with your purchase and don't look upon it as an investment for your old age, but think that it would look good upon the wall at home, go for it.

 

It will provide happy memories of the cruise every time you look at it, and who knows you may even have struck nickle!!

 

N A Gooner

[CruisinKelly]

I like art and enjoy the auctions. If I see something I like I buy it. If you don't want to go to the art auction then don't. It's like all the rest of the activities on the ship, hairy check contests and vegas style shows - just another way to give people more choices to do what they enjoy.

[southbayer]

You mean "hairy chests", as in chewbacca ? hehe:D

[Holgerdanske]

We attended the art auctions, (three times:D ) aboard the Spirit over the Christmas holidays. We hadn't intended to go, but our DD wanted to see some of the art. We loved the auctions, the presentations and the "art lessons" by the auctioneer. She specifically told us that unless the art was an "original", not a "limited edition", not to expect the art to be an "investment". We bought several pieces because we really liked them, not for investments. One piece was a Disney Animation Cell my DW had always wanted:) . We had more fun at the auction than any of the other activities we attended and we definitely will go to the auctions next time we cruise.:D

[cruzeluver]

On my most recent cruise the art auctioneer was very specific about telling people to buy what they like, and not look at the pieces as an investment. After purchasing one serigraph and getting the info on a few other pieces I looked them up when I got home. The starting bids were quite reasonable as it turns out.

 

For me, the auctions are a great diversion from the hairy chest contests and silly games that others like. To each his own!!

[BillnBobbi]

You mean "hairy chests", as in chewbacca ? hehe:D

 

We were in Eastern Europe this past summer and saw some hairy Czechs.

 

:-)

 

Oh, and on the nude beach in Cannes we saw some hairy cheeks too.

 

BnB