We cruised on the Liberty Of The Seas in November of 2015. The cruise itself was great. While onboard we made the mistake of buying some pieces from the Park West art auctions. We were supposed to receive delivery in 8 to 10 weeks. It is now 18 weeks and no sign of our purchases. After emailing them through their website and receiving no response I sent a direct email to their customer service. I finally got a call from them shortly thereafter and was told it would be 2 or 3 more weeks. That was 6 weeks ago. Royal Caribbean has been of no help even though they allow them to operate on their ships. I finally did a search of Park West and found that they have had a number of complaints and a class action lawsuit filed against them. Do your homework before you decide to purchase. I wish I had. You will receive no help from the cruise line should you have a problem.
Beware Park West Galleries
14 Answers
Very good information. Please keep us up to date on the progress. I do not buy art on cruises as I support local artist where I can, but I have heard of minor issues before with other travellers.
That is a shame. I have purchased from them a few times over the decades and have not had any issues. I purchased back in the old days when you would carry the items off the ship yourself and some of them were framed. (great if your end the cruise in your home port). By knowing the artist that I purchased, I have had some of them do very well as an investment .
Have you contacted your Credit card company if you wish to cancel your order ?
I once made a purchase with them and received the items in a timely manner.
As the OP stated, though, they have had many complaints against them.
We have never had a problem with Park West. When UPS damaged a shipment, it was promptly replaced. One with a better piece than we had originally purchased. Most of the complaints deal with the valuation of their pieces. Rule #1: never buy art as an investment. Buy it if you like it.
When I just looked them up most of the complaints were from customers that had purchased on a ship and never got the order in the 90 days promised and when they calle PWG customer service was not good.
Honestly, if I find a piece I like at a price I like, I would probably buy from them again.
Thank you for the information. We have little interest in onboard art because it really doesn't appeal to our taste. I do hope this works out for you. If it was charged to a credit card, you can probably lodge a protest with your cc company and refuse to pay the charge for failure to deliver.
Never had a problem with their customer service either. We had an issue with one of the auctioneers, but it all worked out. In our favour.
I will never buy art on a cruise ship
We said that too, once upon a time
