What’s the worst place on a cruise ship? If you ask regular cruisers, they might tell you to avoid the cigar bar or the Lido Pool area. But for me, it’s the art auction area.
Why? Quite frankly, I think art auctions are a misuse of space on cruise ships — not to mention a complete waste of time and money.
Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate fine art. It’s just that most of the so-called art displayed for cruise ship galleries and auctions isn’t so fine and borders on tacky.
I am not alone. I’ve heard the groans amongst my fellow passengers upon encountering art displays around the ship. These art roadblocks force cruisers into a weaving obstacle course just to get from one part of the ship to another.
It wouldn’t be so bad if there was something interesting to look at. I mean, how many paintings and prints of cottages should one be inundated with? Even worse, the neon-colored glossy fliers heaped upon guests in their staterooms touting the auctions and free champagne are offensive, not to mention far from being a green-friendly practice.
Offensive or not, art auctions and galleries on cruise ships generate revenue and that’s music to most cruise executives’ ears. Still, off the record, many cruise line managers admit they aren’t big fans of the practice. Nevertheless, in the age of shrinking corporate balance sheets, any revenue source is a bright spot.
What’s not so bright is deceptive practices heaped upon some cruise passengers.
Art job
While on a recent cruise I decided to do a pre-dinner stroll of the art gallery and came upon a Picasso “painting.” I use the term “painting” because that’s exactly how several art gallery personnel described it.
They were using this “painting” for a contest. Guests had to estimate its value. The passenger who guessed closest to the actual price would win hundreds of dollars in credit to use towards an art purchase.
The Picasso in question was a man holding a cat. I knew it wasn’t a painting, but a print. I decided to play dumb and asked a lot of silly questions just to see what would happen.
I asked one of the gallery workers if this was a real Picasso painting worth millions why wasn’t it guarded? The worker laughed and said in a heavy Eastern European accent that there were plenty of them watching the “painting.”
I asked why this expensive “painting” was on a ship? Then I got the Park West Gallery spiel that they were the largest art gallery in the world with an extensive original art collection and had the most expertise on selling art at sea.
Indeed, Park West Gallery is the largest player in the high-seas art stakes. The Southfield, Mich., company has galleries onboard Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Norwegian, Carnival, Disney, Holland America, Regent and Oceania vessels. When Park West makes a sale, the cruise line takes a percentage of that sale.
I walked out of the gallery shaking my head, wondering how many gullible passengers would fall into this art trap and wishing the cruise lines would give this whole concept the heave-ho.
So, it was no surprise when I read that some passengers shared my misgivings about these art auctions in general and Park West in particular.
In one example, a passenger paid $19,468 for three Dali prints, only to come home and have them appraised from $850 to $1,000. Another passenger went to a German art fraud detective with his purchases and was informed that they were photomechanical reproductions and not lithographs. The German detective referred to the pieces as “poster art.”
Beware of buyer’s remorse
Shipboard art auctions can be a lot of fun, and they do offer free champagne. And that’s the problem.
Lured by the secure environment onboard the ship, many passengers are more likely to believe the value claims made by the art auctioneers. If you’re not careful with the cheap bubbly, you could end up owning a painting of four dogs playing poker.
I’ve seen this happen a number of times, and I’ve seen the remorseful bidder go home hundreds and thousands of dollars poorer.
Case in point: John and Helen Finch of Pittsburgh took their first cruise several years ago, a seven-day Alaska Inside Passage cruise on Princess. Seeing attractive art every day on the ship, Helen decided to attend one of the onboard art auctions. Before she knew it, she’d paid $800 for two lithographs — not something she had planned for. Even worse, the sale was final – the Finch’s were stuck.
My advice, if you see something you really like, take a picture of it and see if a local art gallery can find it or something like it for you. You usually get better art deals on land, where you can play the competition among galleries.
Better yet, take a photo of a beautiful landscape on your cruise and frame it. That will be a far better value and a terrific memory that will always remain priceless.
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In one example, a passenger paid $19,468 for three Dali prints, only to come home and have them appraised from $850 to $1,000. Another passenger went to a German art fraud detective with his purchases and was informed that they were photomechanical reproductions and not lithographs. The German detective referred to the pieces as “poster art.”
Well, they ARE a subcontractor. I bought a nice piece of jewelry many years ago on a Princess ship for $8500 and when I had it scheduled and appraised at home, it appraised for $2400.
I know all about opinion and appraisals, but $6100 was just too much for me. I contacted Princess and they requested the ring to appraise. Their appraiser in California came back with a $2800 appraisal (and I could live with that–you say tomato) and they refunded me the difference with an apology and a promise to make sure their buying staff was aware.
The jewelry is also subcontracted. I imagine when there is that much of a difference, the cruiser has a great case to get some if not all of the money back. The cruise line could hold back payment on one sailing on one ship to the art dealer. They are in the catbird seat and they ought to do something about it!
The difference though between jewelry onboard, which is a set price, and the art auctions is the nature of an auction is that you are bidding against someone else. So just because you paid $5,000 for something worth $1,000 doesn’t necessarily make it a fraud, if the bidding started really low. Now if they are representing that it’s a Picasso and not telling something it’s a print, or are starting the bidding at $1,000 for something worth $200 that’s another story.
When people ask me about buying anything onboard the ships, whether it be jewelery or art, I tell them buy it because you like it and will enjoy it, not because you think you are getting a deal, because you most likely aren’t.
Great point Wrona. I forgot about the auction part of the equation. I guess it is what the market will bear.
I wonder if there are any shills in the audience? Would not surprise me!
I do know that the automatic card dealers in the casinos can be programmed in various ways…if the dealer sees too many winning hands, they can do an internal reshuffle, They can also shuffle parts of the decks so if there are a lot of face cards returned in the last few minutes, the shuffle can not include those.
Unfortunately the legally operating gaming places are not the only customers of the manufacturers.
Not saying the casinos at sea are doing this but it can be done. And they are not regulated by anyone other than their own casino department.
Fortunately, I had read about Park West before I went on my recent cruise, so my partner and I avoided the art gallery like the plague. We did, however, buy jewellery at one port (not at a ship recommended store though). Our attitude to this purchase was to assume that the metals we purchased were in fact what was represented, and that the stones were as represented. Not being in the jewellery business we could not possibly know what the “real” value of the pieces is, so assumed that there was pretty stiff mark up and the second hand value of these pieces would be based on the value of the metal and stones, and would not include any amount for the jeweller’s creativity in developing the setting for the items. The price we paid reflected our attitude that these were beautiful item that we would wear regularly and could afford, and would not need to sell in a hurry.
My attitude to these “art” auctions is the same, if you see something you like and think will look good in your home, by all means buy it. Just don’t assume you’re buying anything with intrinsic value. In fact unlike a gold and diamond ring or bracelet, you won’t even get the value of the metal and stones. I am always suspicious of sales people who have to lubricate you with champagne before you buy something (we did get a cocktail from the jeweller – after the sales were transacted).
I find this outrageous and am amazed. Shouldn’t the cruise line be responsible for the validity of these auctions and how they auction houses represent the paintings?
It’s one thing in a boat’s casino. Players know they’re more likely to lose than win. But you go in with your eyes open.
I’ve seen people buy jewelry in some off-beat places but always with the caveat that they could have it appraised by a reputable dealer and if the item didn’t come nearly to the price paid that they’d be able to have a rebate.
I’m horrified people are allowed to buy faux art with the idea it’s the real thing. It’s not only immoral but should be illegal. Talk about a captive audience being had ….and sometimes for the price of a few cheap drinks.
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The values attributed to the so-called art offered for auction on the cruises on which I’ve sailed were truly astounding to me, as were the number of folks bidding for it. Moreover, the idea that someone would pay tens of thousands of dollars for artwork without an independent appraisal from a known appraiser boggles my mind.
It’s be one thing to bid a couple of hundred dollars for a lithograph or watercolor you like (I won’t even do that on a cruise.) but to spend thousands, in part because you believe it has real investment value is something else again.
I just don’t understand how so many people who would never buy such art at home, think nothing of buying it at sea. I didn’t realize the champagne was that strong.
I enjoy looking at the artwork. What is a waste to you is certainly an enjoyable way to spend some of my free time on a cruise ship. I enjoy museums and just general walking and people watching, and the art galleries offer that quiet time. I also meet people with my interests at the gallery in a way that the younger crowds meet at the disco. Are you an expert, or are you just a gossip columnist with your own agenda?