Before You Bid - The Truth About Art Auctions at Sea - Part 1

Cruise ship art auctions can be a major highlight of taking a cruise for many people, especially those who believe that because a ship is at sea, art auctions provide the best way to pick up some original pieces of art at heavily discounted prices.

Unfortunately, being ‘at sea’ actually does not benefit the passenger at all, and in the end, it actually allows the auction houses to get people to pay much higher prices than they would on land for similar pieces.

So before you spend $1000, $5000 or even more on a ‘piece of art’ during your next cruise, make sure you understand exactly what you are getting into.

So how does it work?

Let the fun begin! Announcements will be made, invitations sent to your cabin. You will be eagerly invited, if not urged, by the ship’s art auctioneer to attend one of the regularly scheduled auctions.  You will be given free champagne upon arrival, as much as you want to drink. The art auctioneer and his/her assistants will chat you up, using several well-practiced tactics to get you excited about the upcoming auction. They want you to firmly believe that buying art is one of the best ‘investments’ that you could possibly make.

To begin with, art auctions at sea DO NOT operate under United States or any other country’s laws about how auctions should be conducted. As a result, since the auctions take place in international waters, the auction houses basically create their own rules about how they will conduct their auctions. They simply do not have to follow any specified laws and therefore do not have to answer to any legal system on land.

This fact alone should cause anyone to think twice before attending an art auction during their cruise. If you do, just be aware that you might not be dealing with the most honest and ethical of businesses.

The auctioneer will speak to you about the value of artwork and how the pieces they are about to auction are bound to appreciate in value within a short period of time. They will have you believing that every single piece of art will be worth incredible amounts of money - money that you can use to invest in your future, or pass along to your family as part of their inheritance. You will hear that art collection is one of the most reliable and safest ways to protect your money.

Be careful! While some of what you hear may be true, you will soon find out why none of it actually applies to the pieces of art they are about to auction off. Keep in mind, these art auctioneers are very skilled at what they are doing. In fact, they must attend intensive training courses that can last up to one month so that they can fine-tune their sales tactics. They are extremely talented ‘smoothtalkers’ to say the least.

Once they have the crowd motivated and convinced that purchasing art is the way to go, the actual auction itself begins. Unfortunately, however, the art auction is not as simple a procedure as it may at first appear.

Contact us at Travel,Tours & Cruises for your next cruise vacation, and tune in tomorrow for Part 2 of this exposé.