Art auctions just aren’t the same…

[wcook]

when you have a drink package. Always a fun time, but mostly for the free champagne I think. Just a big goof - a only on a cruise ship activity. But somehow I feel like I’m being cheated since I’m not “scamming” free alcohol. Maybe I could actually buy some art. Bwahahahaha. Kidding. 
 

 Anyway, auction starts in 10 minutes. Hope everyone is having a great day. 

[George C]

We also went for the free champagne, but with drink package we rarely go, we actually bought two prints a decade or so ago , we like them there hanging in our living room.

[Essiesmom]

I liked the art lectures, but I don’t care for champagne.  I prefer to look at the art in someone else’s house.  Actually, we have a lots of art on our walls.  My sister’s favorite souvenir was pictures/prints/etchings of places we were seeing.  From where I sit, I can see a watercolor of a historic house in Lahaina, Leeds Castle, Canterbury,  St. Albany’s; in the downstairs bath are Durham Cathedral and York Minster.  There are half a dozen others I can’t see for the Christmas tree.  EM

[BruceMuzz]

If you think you are getting away with free “champagne” at an Art Auction, you are mistaken.

That free “champagne” on most of the Carnival Corp ships costs the company less than US$2  per bottle.

Chewing on the plastic cork from the bottle would be tastier and more satisfying.

[donaldsc]

I always try to buy a piece of art on every cruise to a new place but my problem is that I am running out of wall space to hang the stuff.  However I do not buy any of the cr** that they sell on the ship.  I try to find something done locally so it reminds me of where I was and also supports a local artist.  The artwork may not be high class artworks but it is a reminder of the places that I have visited.  Some of the stuff that I have bought may have cost me only $10 to $20 and some may be as much as a few hundred dollars but it is meaningful to me.

 

DON

[9tee2Sea]

I only purchased art from the auction once.  They had 2 pieces that I really liked.  I paid under $100 for both.  I didn't realize they come unframed, and guess what?  The framing and matting cost me $150 each!  My partner still says what a wasteful purchase, but I like them a lot, so yes, it may have been more expensive that I would pay, but I enjoy them, and that's all that counts.  I just wont buy anymore art at an auction.

[jsn55]

2 hours ago, donaldsc said:

I always try to buy a piece of art on every cruise to a new place but my problem is that I am running out of wall space to hang the stuff.  However I do not buy any of the cr** that they sell on the ship.  I try to find something done locally so it reminds me of where I was and also supports a local artist.  The artwork may not be high class artworks but it is a reminder of the places that I have visited.  Some of the stuff that I have bought may have cost me only $10 to $20 and some may be as much as a few hundred dollars but it is meaningful to me.

 

DON

I did the same, love to support the artists directly, until I had no place to put anything new.  But, really, how can you miss the opportunity of bidding on a THOMAS KINCAID original?  They even offer a seminar on his 'art'.  Oh my goodness.  

[donaldsc]

4 hours ago, 9tee2Sea said:

I only purchased art from the auction once.  They had 2 pieces that I really liked.  I paid under $100 for both.  I didn't realize they come unframed, and guess what?  The framing and matting cost me $150 each!  My partner still says what a wasteful purchase, but I like them a lot, so yes, it may have been more expensive that I would pay, but I enjoy them, and that's all that counts.  I just wont buy anymore art at an auction.

 

You can almost always assume that any art that you purchase will cost you more to frame unless the art is already framed.  

 

One way to reduce your costs a bit and more important to have your framed pictures look their best is to cut your own mats with a mat cutter.  This one is only $140 at Amazon.  

 

https://www.amazon.com/Logan-350-1-Compact-Elite-Cutter/dp/B004J1EULG/ref=sr_1_2?gclid=CjwKCAiAhqCdBhB0EiwAH8M_Gub1Dcv__4T-2Ds5-_MP383-243X1RX-ixEdSfax6G5KZgjysJEX5RoCf6cQAvD_BwE&hvadid=174230162631&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9028730&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=1945004475725555341&hvtargid=kwd-89456681&hydadcr=28960_9847236&keywords=mat+board+cutter&qid=1672005531&refinements=p_72%3A2638180011%2Cp_36%3A2638329011&rnid=2638325011&s=arts-crafts&sr=1-2&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.f5122f16-c3e8-4386-bf32-63e904010ad0

 

You can get a frame of the proper size at your local Michaels and then cut a mat to the proper size w the mat cutter.  The mat cutter lets you cut a hole in the mat that is just the proper size for the picture instead of being stuck with one of the precut mats that are available at Michaels.   Another advantage is that instead of buying one of the expensive precut mats you can buy a large sheet of matting and use it for several pictures.  One more advantage is that if you have the framing store do the work when they cut your mat they keep the inside of the mat.  I have always assumed that they keep these remnants and use them for other pictures.  With my mat cutter I get to keep the inside of then mat and can use it for a smaller picture.  I have covered the cost of my mat cutter many times over.

 

Hope that this idea helps.  It works for me.

 

DON

[navybankerteacher]

3 hours ago, jsn55 said:

I did the same, love to support the artists directly, until I had no place to put anything new.  But, really, how can you miss the opportunity of bidding on a THOMAS KINCAID original?  They even offer a seminar on his 'art'.  Oh my goodness.  

Is that  really a “THOMAS KINCAID original” hanging in the card room for you to bid on?   I have never seen any original work of any recognized artist at a shipboard auction.   

[Ashland]

Waste of time and I personally don't need a free glass of champagne that bad.

[DirtyDawg]

38 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Is that  really a “THOMAS KINCAID original” hanging in the card room for you to bid on?   I have never seen any original work of any recognized artist at a shipboard auction.   

What cruise lines do you sail on? On ours we see DA VINCI's, MONET's, and  VAN GOGH's all the time at the art auctions. 🖼️

 

Of course they're Lenny DA VINCI,  Chuck MONET, and my cousin, Vinnie VAN GOGH, but they are originals and pretty recognizable!  😁

[lenquixote66]

A comfortable chair in an air conditioned setting is always a plus.

[Toofarfromthesea]

8 hours ago, DirtyDawg said:

What cruise lines do you sail on? On ours we see DA VINCI's, MONET's, and  VAN GOGH's all the time at the art auctions. 🖼️

 

Of course they're Lenny DA VINCI,  Chuck MONET, and my cousin, Vinnie VAN GOGH, but they are originals and pretty recognizable!  😁

 

And those are the ones that give you Don Perignon champagne for attending.

[Gwendy]

Years ago a friend won the prize at the art auction.  When she found out how much it was going to cost to have it sent to her home she gave it back.. lol

Anyone who could drink a full glass of the free stuff they give out has a stronger constitution than I have.

[sverigecruiser]

21 hours ago, Gwendy said:

Years ago a friend won the prize at the art auction.  When she found out how much it was going to cost to have it sent to her home she gave it back.. lol

Anyone who could drink a full glass of the free stuff they give out has a stronger constitution than I have.

 

Wasn't she allowed to just carry it herself?

[Gwendy]

2 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

Wasn't she allowed to just carry it herself?

No, apparently it had to be sent from the main warehouse. 

[sverigecruiser]

8 hours ago, Gwendy said:

No, apparently it had to be sent from the main warehouse. 

 

Stupid, I think!

[BruceMuzz]

Stupid, you think.

Yet very clever from the Art Auction Company’s point of view.

Their customers are nearly all American.

They store the “Art” in a cheap warehouse in the Florida Everglades.

They never have to pay expensive international shipping charges to get the Art to the ships.

They never have to deal with International Customs fees, paperwork, and delays.

The purchasers even pay for the shipping and handling inside the USA.

[DirtyDawg]

11 hours ago, BruceMuzz said:

Stupid, you think.

Yet very clever from the Art Auction Company’s point of view.

Their customers are nearly all American.

They store the “Art” in a cheap warehouse in the Florida Everglades.

They never have to pay expensive international shipping charges to get the Art to the ships.

They never have to deal with International Customs fees, paperwork, and delays.

The purchasers even pay for the shipping and handling inside the USA.

And the art action company probably owns the shipping company! A win, win for them! 😁

[navybankerteacher]

On 12/28/2022 at 5:08 AM, sverigecruiser said:

 

Wasn't she allowed to just carry it herself?

Of course not -- the piece you buy at a shipboard "art" auction is the lure --- just the best copy of the hundreds (thousands?) ; and they want to keep it on board so they can keep selling it.  

 

I hope you did not really think that you had any chance of buying a true "original" at one of those auctions. 

[jsn55]

Everything is monetized now by Marketing Departments.  A cruiseline runs a game, it gives away stuff, but it doesn't care about the pax who wins the stuff.  The point is to 'give' the pax things, at no cost to the cruiseline.  Marketing Departments couldn't care less about the pax, they just want to cause excitement (they think) amongst the pax.  We're on our first Princess cruise and it's obvious that cost-cutting and 'excitement' is the name of the game.  The pax' needs and wants come last.  They had one security line open today in Maui, it took forever to process all the pax in each tender.  But it cost Princess less to do it this way.  Princess thinks that the glitz of ordering stuff delivered to your lounge chair will override common sense.  We might be coming to a critical point one of these days when only the ignorant and poor book mass market cruises.  I know that some of you think we got there quite some time ago!  I am leaning that way.

[ldubs]

19 hours ago, jsn55 said:

Everything is monetized now by Marketing Departments.  A cruiseline runs a game, it gives away stuff, but it doesn't care about the pax who wins the stuff.  The point is to 'give' the pax things, at no cost to the cruiseline.  Marketing Departments couldn't care less about the pax, they just want to cause excitement (they think) amongst the pax.  We're on our first Princess cruise and it's obvious that cost-cutting and 'excitement' is the name of the game.  The pax' needs and wants come last.  They had one security line open today in Maui, it took forever to process all the pax in each tender.  But it cost Princess less to do it this way.  Princess thinks that the glitz of ordering stuff delivered to your lounge chair will override common sense.  We might be coming to a critical point one of these days when only the ignorant and poor book mass market cruises.  I know that some of you think we got there quite some time ago!  I am leaning that way.

 

I was on a princess cruise this past October and had a pretty good time.  Sorry things went wrong for you.  I'm sure it was more than long boarding lines, which are never fun.  

 

Seems to me the cruise lines are in a pickle because of the COVID shut down.  Doesn't make it nicer for us, but at least I understand it.  

 

BTW, I'm not sure I agree that poor people are taking cruise vacations. 

[navybankerteacher]

20 hours ago, jsn55 said:

...

 

We might be coming to a critical point one of these days when only the ignorant and poor book mass market cruises.  I know that some of you think we got there quite some time ago!  I am leaning that way.

It is sort of like wanting to feed a thousand people with a hundred servings of soup:  if you keep adding water, you will always have enough.   Anyone who sailed HAL, Celebrity or Princess before they joined the downward spiral of competition with Carnival and NCL will see that HAL, Celebrity and Princess are more than a little bit different from how they were twenty years ago.

[navybankerteacher]

33 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

...

 

BTW, I'm not sure I agree that poor people are taking cruise vacations. 

Poor is a relative term -- but cruising on mass market lines has become the least expensive vacation activity (outside of staying home).  To the extent "poor people" take vacations away from home at all, it is likely to be on a mass market cruise ship.

 

Someone who elects to travel outside of the US without a passport primarily because getting a passport would make the cruise unaffordable might not be considered wealthy.

Edited December 31, 2022 by navybankerteacher

[ldubs]

2 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Poor is a relative term -- but cruising on mass market lines has become the least expensive vacation activity (outside of staying home).  To the extent "poor people" take vacations away from home at all, it is likely to be on a mass market cruise ship.

 

Someone who elects to travel outside of the US without a passport primarily because getting a passport would make the cruise unaffordable might not be considered wealthy.

 

No not wealthy, and perhaps not poor either.  To me taking a cruise is a pretty high level of comfort, even on a mass market cruise ship.   Like you say, it is all in the perspective.