Are those walk-in and free seminar events just upsell?

[nbsjcruiser]

10 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

Are you suggesting that Kinkade's works are not hideous or maybe that they are worse than hideous.  For me it is the latter.

 

DON

My wife likes to tell the story of a show she saw on TV once about an art dealer who was telling the story of a couple who broke up and were fighting over the multiple pieces of art work they bought on cruises over the years. They spent thousands of dollars on these pieces and in many cases he evaluated the frames higher than the art work itself. They're basically worthless for the most part. Mind you, I've seen a few I liked and I'd hang them up in my house but I'd suffer under no illusions regarding their worth.

Edited January 14 by nbsjcruiser

[DCThunder]

12 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

Are you suggesting that Kinkade's works are not hideous or maybe that they are worse than hideous.  For me it is the latter.

 

DON

Bingo!

[starvenger]

5 hours ago, nbsjcruiser said:

Mind you, I've seen a few I liked and I'd hang them up in my house but I'd suffer under no illusions regarding their worth.

That's pretty much it. Don't buy art because you think it's worth something and will appreciate in value over time - buy it because you like it.

[DCThunder]

1 minute ago, starvenger said:

That's pretty much it. Don't buy art because you think it's worth something and will appreciate in value over time - buy it because you like it.

But, but, but, the art auctioneer assured us that the $15,000 Peter Max they were selling would appreciate in value!  Are you telling us that they'd LIE?????  :sarc:

[starvenger]

2 hours ago, DCThunder said:

But, but, but, the art auctioneer assured us that the $15,000 Peter Max they were selling would appreciate in value!  Are you telling us that they'd LIE?????  :sarc:

I'm not telling you that... but if you believe that auctioneer, I'd like to talk to you about some wonderful oceanfront property in Saskatchewan...

[Incognito1]

My own experience is that the art auction is not what it appears to be.  They're selling reproductions of overpriced art, and during the bidding the auctioneer kept jumping the bid up with, "...and in the back, thank you" -- except I was in the very back and nobody was bidding it up.  Granted, some of the art is lovely, but you see the very same "originals" on different ships.  If sitting through an hour is worth a glass of cheap champagne, go for it.

 

The shopping show - "$100 same as cash" when it requires a $600 purchase is NOT the same as cash.  It's a coupon.  I've noticed that the freebies they hand out have gotten worse and worse, although there is usually one or two that are nice pieces of jewelry.

 

The spa giveaway - The last one was absolutely the worst.  Yes, they draw for "prizes."  On our last cruise, the winner of the $100 certificate told me that when she tried to redeem it for a $99 service, she was told that it had to be at least $100 (next level was $139) and that it didn't include the tip or extra charges.

 

The destination talks on Princess have mostly been talking up their unsold excursions when they have them.  OTOH, RCCL had an enrichment speaker on our Iceland/Scotland cruise who packed the theater every time because he was so interesting, knew his stuff, and was completely honest about the tours, even those not through RCCL

 

 

[Incognito1]

On 1/12/2024 at 9:42 AM, cr8tiv1 said:

Arts and crafts used to have good crafts.  Mostly origami paper folding.  

Completely forgot about this. Origami for 10 year olds is NOT an appropriate cruise activity.   I write this up every single time, but it's cheap so it's not going to change.  They used to have really interesting stuff like painted ceramics, purse-making, bead crafts, scrapbooking, paracord bracelets, etc.  Now it's just crappy origami or "cross-stitching a card" from a crewmember who got stuck with it and doesn't know what they're doing.

 

Plus, in my experience, they never have enough time scheduled so they just leave you with the stuff and head off to their next thing.

[ldubs]

On 1/13/2024 at 10:07 AM, jwattle said:

Not to be nit picking, but...

Giclée Art Prints are more expensive than Canvas Prints. Here's why: Canvas prints are basic inkjet prints that use dye inks, which are not fade resistant and have a longevity of 10-20 years. Giclée, or Pigment Printing, use pigments instead of dyes which are archival and have a longevity of 200+ years.

 

The artist behind the site you quoted (Emmet Kyoshi Art) has an incredible story.     

[ldubs]

On 1/12/2024 at 7:27 AM, DCThunder said:

3/4ths of the "art" I see in the Princess Art Galleries is hideous.  And the other 1/4th is Thomas Kinkade.

 

On 1/13/2024 at 5:40 PM, donaldsc said:

 

Are you suggesting that Kinkade's works are not hideous or maybe that they are worse than hideous.  For me it is the latter.

 

DON

 

Well, your's would be the bandwagon crowd's choice too.   Do you not like it because it is popular to not like it or do you truly not like it?   Sounds kind of weird, but I don't like his art because it kind of makes me feel cold.  It is kind of old timey too. 

[DCThunder]

10 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

 

Well, your's would be the bandwagon crowd's choice too.   Do you not like it because it is popular to not like it or do you truly not like it?   Sounds kind of weird, but I don't like his art because it kind of makes me feel cold.  It is kind of old timey too. 

Thomas Kinkade's art is a representation of what life was like in "the olden days".  Except the "olden days" were NEVER like what is depicted in his paintings. It's no different than the Hollywood version of the "Wild West" with gunfights taking place nightly on the streets of Dodge City or Deadwood. We'd all like to think that American small towns always looked like a Kinkade painting, but the truth is, they didn't.

 

I'm no art critic but the dreamy, idealized version of American small town life in the early mid 20th century simply doesn't appeal to me and never has.  

[Thrak]

On 1/14/2024 at 6:56 PM, ldubs said:

 

 

Well, your's would be the bandwagon crowd's choice too.   Do you not like it because it is popular to not like it or do you truly not like it?   Sounds kind of weird, but I don't like his art because it kind of makes me feel cold.  It is kind of old timey too. 

 

Our oldest son once bought a signed Kincaid as a Christmas present for his brother's wife. (They are since divorced and both sons wish she didn't have the painting but...) It was not of the "house of light and color" genre. It was a hillside with an old barn and some horses and was an excellent piece. If not for the signature you would never believe it was a Kincaid. (I really liked it a lot.) My dad and his wife had a number of the "other", more typical, Kindcaid's. I never cared for them However, when my dad died his wife's son took her down to the lawyer's office and had her change the will to benefit him exclusively - cutting out my sister and me. He got everything which was not unsubstantial. Ah, well. At least I didn't have to deal with disposing of the Kincaid art. 🤪