Cruise ship Art Auctions – Scams, Fraud or Bargains? Part 2…….

After my first post about art Auctions at sea, I received many calls of my customers who had participated in these Auctions. I am sorry to tell here that none of them called me to tell me that the had a good deal. No, they complained about misleading information, high prices and “pressure” to buy.

I had another look around and include these stories in this blog below.

YouTube movie about on board auctions

From the Celebrity Cruises website:
Art Auctions
An appreciation for the finer things sets you apart. Aboard Celebrity, we reward you with culturally enriching experiences at every turn. Throughout the ship, you’ll find museum-quality artwork on display by masters like Picasso and contemporary painters like Peter Max. During our onboard art auction, sip champagne as you discover the next great surrealist or complete your already impressive collection.
Conducted with great panache, our auctions offer original works from many well-known artists. Critical commentaries by scholars from Harvard, Yale and the National Gallery make this a unique and exciting opportunity.
Watercolors, serigraphs, lithographs, etchings, engravings, mixed media and works of Animation Art are offered and will appeal to almost every taste.

One month ago, Royal Caribbean changed the Auctions

Royal Caribbean Makes Changes to Cruise Ship Art Auctions
The Royal Caribbean official blog stated that their cruise ship art auctions will not be run by Park West Gallery anymore.
Royal Caribbean’s cruise ship art auction program is about to experience a big change. They have decided to stop using the concessionaire, Park West Gallery and possibly eliminate art auctions altogether onboard their cruise ships.
According to Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein’s blog, “Our contract with Park West Art Services has expired and we have decided not to renew it,” writes Goldstein on May 11, 2010. “We are evaluating what if any art-related programming we may offer in the fleet in the future beyond Oasis of the Seas where Art Actually is our provider of art tours and art for purchase onboard.”

When the Royal Caribbean cruise ship, Oasis of the Seas was launched in December 2009, they introduced a new type of art gallery. The Parkside Gallery, operated by Miami-based Art Actually, showcases an ever changing selection of art and features their Artist in Residence program. A different artist cruises each week to host workshops and seminars including the Young at Art children’s program.
The Art Actually website describes how the gallery is dedicated to creating awareness in the contemporary art featured in the Royal Caribbean Art collection. One-hour art tours will be offered throughout the cruise for passengers to get to know about the paintings and photographic pieces onboard the Oasis of the Seas. Of course, there’s also the option to purchase the art as well.

Are Cruise Ship Art Auctions a Scam?
Goldstein has not commented on why Royal Caribbean will not be using Park West Gallery in the future, but the cruise ship art provider is involved in a number of class action lawsuits related to its cruise ship art auctions.

Royal Caribbean’s decision to not renew their contract with Park West comes one year after Disney Cruise Line’s decision back in March 2009. Disney now uses West End Gallery Inc. instead of Park West for their cruise ship art auctions. Princess Cruises uses Global Fine Arts located in the Fort Lauderdale area. And, Carnival Cruise Lines and Norwegian Cruise Line continue to use Park West.