Review of Park West Gallery Art Program on Golden Princess 3/15/14 - 4/1/14

[UT-Volsfan]

Thanks for the review. ?? Did you report some of the issues, especially the demeanor of the host, on the post cruise survey? Princess reads these, and they don't like negative comments about staff.

 

We both used up most of our space in the comments section of the survey to describe this issue. We just aren't sure how much say Princess has over PW employees if Park West is paying them a rental fee.

 

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Forums mobile app

[san diego sue]

Called Parkwest this morning because of the three pieces I had framed didn't come with linen matting. Was never put on the order but had been told that is the way it is always framed.

Jessica at Park West was really nice. She didn't argue about it. Said whatever is convenient for us. Can send back or bring to frame shop locally(which she said was a better option, we can pick out color).

They will reimburse us up to $100.00 for each piece once I send them the written estimate. if it comes to more she said no to worry, she will get it approved.

I thought I would get an arguement because the sample pieces of art

all had the Paper matting. I had photographed them. She was really nice. Only big deal is lugging three framed pieces of art to local frame shop.

I honestly think that the person on the ship told us wrong and ParkWest is making it good.

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for all the information on Park West, very interesting.

[audobon_tx]

still don't understand why people buy "art" on princess. no galleries back home? don't blame the ships i suppose if there is demand for this sort of thing but again, why do passengers shop on a cruise ship? for anything for that matter, much less "art"?

[san diego sue]

We use to have lots of art galleries locally but most are now out of business. Over many years of collecting I don't buy anymore. However

went to the art auction and kept winning their raffles. So mine were free

except for framing which was actually a huge savings over local frame shops.

We never shop for anything of great value on a cruise or land based vacations.

[Love.II.Cruise]

Wow, I am sorry to hear of what Park West is doing. So what happened to the past art directors? Are they not on the Princess ships now? We met one that was so nice and had lunch with him offshore. This makes me think we should email him to find out where he is working these days.

[piper28]

still don't understand why people buy "art" on princess. no galleries back home? don't blame the ships i suppose if there is demand for this sort of thing but again, why do passengers shop on a cruise ship? for anything for that matter, much less "art"?

 

I've never seen a gallery that I felt offered anything reasonable when it came to pricing. And quite frankly, there's only a few around where I live, and quite frankly, Princess carried better stuff than anything I've seen in those galleries. Galleries also have always seemed higher pressure to me too, which was something that PFA definitely wasn't (and PW is).

 

Now, I wasn't one that was going to spend $40k on a painting, but I've bought a number of pieces on Princess, and been pretty satisfied. Most of my purchases have been in the $250 to $800 range, some are originals, some are limited editions. All of them were things I've done research on, and I always felt the pricing was fair on Princess. Ever price Wyland in his galleries and on what used to be PFA? PFA was very definitely competitive in pricing.

 

I've walked through the auction setup for the new PW versions on the one cruise that I've taken since then, and don't really plan on going back. Quite honestly, I didn't find the artists that they carried appealed to me, and on the few pieces where I could directly compare price on similar pieces, I was astounded at just how much more they wanted. From my research on pieces that I've purchased, I'm not even convinced that PW is competitive with gallery prices on what they're selling, so that'd be one more incentive for me not to purchase from them.

 

Princess had a very good relationship with a number of artists, and I'm not overly convinced that it's going to continue with PW. I honestly don't expect to ever see those pieces of art coming back. If they're still using the line that they had to all be taken in an inventoried before being sent out again, they're spouting nonsense. They've had plenty of time for it. (Does kinda make me wonder what's happened to all the artwork that PFA had warehoused, and how can I get my hands on a couple of pieces that I was interested in :) ).

 

Now, the good news for me is that this does making cruising a little cheaper for me. Now there's no incentive at all for me to buy any artwork. Oh well, I don't have enough wall space as it is, so at least I don't have to worry about that problem anymore :).

[PescadoAmarillo]

I was walking by the Explorers Lounge on the Emerald Princess during an art auction when I heard the "auctioneer" say, "If you can afford it, but it. If it's a stretch piece for you, buy it. If you feel it's out of your price range, be open to thinking about what you can do differently to be able to buy it". It made me nauseated, frankly, just like the infomercials telling us that we should be buying rare stones in jewelry as an investment.

[MauiLvrs]

Nothing made me want to attend the auction.

Us too ... so we didn't.

[hillslife]

Thanks for your up to date PW review....guess the leopard does not change his spots. We had a bad experience with them years ago...will definitely NOT be buying anymore cruise art from them!!

[Kmkub]

Agree with the comments by the OP about being stalked. We decided no more art gallery browsing in January, when we were stalked the entire time we were in the gallery. Who needs that?

 

On our cruise in March, they were standing outside the gallery waving people in; similar to how one feels while shopping in Mexico.

 

Both experiences made us feel very uncomfortable.

[Loonbeam]

One thing I am wondering...

 

I suspect the compensation model has changed between PFA and PW. I am pretty sure PFA was salary, such as it was, plus some commission. I wonder if PFA is more commission based which tends to lead to more aggressive sales tactics.

 

Anyone have any info?

 

Agree with the comments by the OP about being stalked. We decided no more art gallery browsing in January, when we were stalked the entire time we were in the gallery. Who needs that?

 

On our cruise in March, they were standing outside the gallery waving people in; similar to how one feels while shopping in Mexico.

 

Both experiences made us feel very uncomfortable.

[sueandkent]

We just got off of Caribbean Princess, and although we didn't sign up for a bid paddle (I liked the old system - it had a degree of trust and integrity), we did attend a preview and part of an auction.

 

At the preview we asked one of the many representatives if they carried Martiros. She replied that the previous inventory of Princess Global Fine Arts (PGFA) was "being catalogued and should be available in a month or so". I remarked to my wife privately that this was the identical answer I saw here on Cruise Critic over 3 months ago, so was patently just a line of ...

 

I also noted the lack of reserve pricing on the rear of the pictures.

 

There were a number of pieces attributed to Norman Rockwell with a penciled Rockwell signature - however the series had a stamp indicating the pieces were "Series 1999" printings. Seeing as these were "signed" 21 years after Mr. Rockwell's death, they are little more than posters - we didn't stick around to hear how they were being presented or priced.

 

Following that preview we decided there was nothing being offered worth spending our money on.

 

We did see one of the mystery picture auctions where a painting was placed on the easel just showing the back. People bid, with representatives running around yelling paddle numbers, gavels were pounded and a price was given: $280. Multiple people got the piece at that price. Then a second piece was shown, and the auctioneer now said "you can get TWO paintings from the same artist for $280!" Again more running around and yelling of paddle numbers. Then a third piece was added and the auctioneer said "you can get THREE paintings for that same price of $280!" The subject matter, format, and hues were different on all three pieces; they were definitely not an artistically matched set one would show on a wall. More running around, more yelling of paddle numbers, all of which were being frantically recorded by someone at the lectern up front.

 

I was standing there, flabbergasted that the original bidders with one piece weren't storming the stage shouting "you cheated me", when the auctioneer then said "Now would those who didn't bid please raise your paddles?" Many did and the yelling of paddle numbers started again and the gavel was being pounded for a sale. It was supposed to be a joke, but any respectable auction would never allow this. It totally destroyed any credibility that I had left, and it was rock bottom already.

 

We left at that point.

 

We got the special reception invitation, as we used to when Princess Fine Arts was internal.

 

It irritates me that our art buying history has now apparently been shared with Park West - with another company, not internal to Princess.

 

Although we have never attended an auction or bought, we did always enjoy looking at the art and liked quite a few pieces. On our recent CB cruise we thought the new selection was horrible. We had a forward cabin on a Plaza deck so had to walk through there all the time. Absolutely nothing caught our eye this time.

[Roses2]

I have never attended an art auction on board a Princess ship nor do I intend to attend one. So I have no dog in the fight. However, I found this thread very interesting and did a little research on the internet.

 

I can not validate the authenticity of the article below. It is several years old. It does mention Park West, class action law suits, and other interesting things that may add to the discussion.

 

http://www.travel-golf.org/t_cruise_art_auctions_scam_fraud.htm

[partybarbie]

still don't understand why people buy "art" on princess. no galleries back home? don't blame the ships i suppose if there is demand for this sort of thing but again, why do passengers shop on a cruise ship? for anything for that matter, much less "art"?

 

My husband buys cigarettes for $28.00 a carton and I buy my Estee Lauder make-up for 40% less than what I would pay at home.

 

As for the artwork, prior to Park West, I purchased a 18x24, framed and signed, Wyland lithograph for $70.00. If you have ever been to a Wyland gallery, you would know what a steal that was. Even the art director had to double check the price.

[framer]

I've been involved in the art gallery / picture framing business for 40+ years. My only two sense to add is: "Nobody is an art investor that buys art on a cruise ship". The word "investor" does not ever work with art.

 

Good luck to the buyers.

 

framer

[ggprincess2004]

We would not buy art on board, but did enjoy wandering the galleries in the past. We also enjoyed sitting in on a few auctions, especially when weather was not cooperating for outdoor activities. Sounds like those things are not going to be pleasant options anymore.

 

It is unfortunate that the art director was using offensive rhetoric .....more along the lines of BILLY MAYS here for ____________!!! rather than maintaining the usual relaxed but upscale Princess experience. Hopefully Princess will rethink this business decision when it is time to consider renewing the contract with Park West.

[Redwing55]

I too hope Princess is reading these. Although if the revenue is maintained or is even close, I would see little reason for Princess to take it back in house.

 

What I do wonder most about are the selections. For some reason I really liked a lot of the artists that PFA had. Now I've only been on one cruise with PW running things, but I too found little that appealed to me. I wonder is it just because I saw those other artists' works first? - Although I've been a Wyland lover before cruising. And there were pieces that I would never buy (wouldn't work in our house) but I did enjoy looking at them. Not the case with PW.

 

Oh well, like I've said before, and others too, I guess I'll have to find other things to check out on the ship.:mad:

Edited April 9, 2014 by Redwing55