Regent and Park West: Finito?

[bamadad]

We just left the Voyager Saturday in Stockholm. PW was there and was hosting a VIP event onboard. Maybe they left the ship when we did?

[RachelG]

Currently on mariner. Park west is definitely gone. Big blank wall where they used to be between the horizon lounge and coffee connection.

[Hambagahle]

If Frank Del Rio says that the PW contract has been terminated I rather think it has -- and this is great news. Those art auctions were tacky to say the least (so was almost all the art for that matter). I love what they plan to do with the "empty" spaces! Great ideas...

 

Rachel - hope your cruise continues to be perfect on the food scene and better on the port scene if you have any more tender posts which I assume you do! I am really looking forward to reading more about it! Happy sailing...

Gerry

[gnomie1]

If Frank Del Rio says that the PW contract has been terminated I rather think it has -- and this is great news. Those art auctions were tacky to say the least (so was almost all the art for that matter). I love what they plan to do with the "empty" spaces! Great ideas...

 

Rachel - hope your cruise continues to be perfect on the food scene and better on the port scene if you have any more tender posts which I assume you do! I am really looking forward to reading more about it! Happy sailing...

Gerry

 

 

We were told that the contract was terminated, yet current passengers on the Voyager report that PW is up and running and when asked, claim they are not leaving. It would be nice to know what the real story is. After reading the messages from FDR, I was under the assumption that PW was no longer on any of the ships.

 

gnomie :)

[eliana]

Don't understand this animosity towards Park West. We ignore the hard sell and just enjoy looking at many of the paintings with no intention of buying any. The paintings and the selling room really do not occupy much useable space, certainly on the Voyager. Surely passengers on Regent are not that gullible, and only buy what they really like and want and check out the price which is easy on the internet. The walls on the Mariner are now rather bare, but perhaps Regent is buying the odd Picasso and Monet to adorn them.

[Pepc]

For anyone interested:

We were on the Voyager for a month (back-to-back) and got off 15 June.

The Southampton - Stockholm leg of our cruise was a Park West "VIP art auction" cruise.

We spoke to a couple we met who were "invited" by Park West to cruise at absolutely no charge to them!

They said they were not obligated to buy any artwork on that particular cruise, however, they had already seen a piece of art they were interested in!

They indicated they were "good customers" and were invited by Park West to sail on this cruise - - and in the past as well!

Being curious, I asked the auctioneer at Park West how it worked. He explained that if you spend $10,000-$15,000 on art, you would be invited to attend a "local" land event near where you live. If you spend about $20,000 you would be invited on a short cruise. If you spent $35,000+ you would be invited on a similar cruise (Southampton - Stockholm).

By the way, every night there was some type of "special" function for the group (dinner in Prime 7, cocktail parties, special tours, etc.).

[findacruise]

I'll gladly pay for my own cruise and buy my art on land!

[pingpong1]

Gnomie1 - Hi. When we left Voyager on the morning of June 21, the PW "area" on the ship was all packed up (as in "empty) with no paintings on the walls or easels. The day before, they had supposedly conducted an "auction" for anything that happened to be left on the ship. I saw them hauling a bunch of wrapped/packed "stuff" to storage area. Regards.

[BARBYQ]

What wonderful news ! Park West has been a sore point with us for years !:)

[xrvlcruiser]

Just posted from someone on the Voyager that the former PW space is empty. Should be the end of the discussion.

[Gr8Mariner]

During the decade that I was the Executive Director, I had the pleasure of staging a mini-version of The Sausalito Art Festival on Crystal, HAL, and RCI...passengers really appreciate the opportunity to see original art and meet the Artists.

 

This change is a great move to make the art offerings as upscale as Regent and Oceania.