A New Canvas: Park West Gallery Sets Sail on Utopia of the Seas
Offering 3 and 4 night sailings from Port Canaveral, Florida, Royal Caribbean’s newest ship Utopia of the Seas is like a delicious fruity cocktail punctuated with an umbrella, perfectly blending value, experience, and good times in the sunshine.
With the arrival of Utopia of the Seas, veteran cruisers and new travelers can experience a top-of-the-line vacation over the course of a long weekend (or midweek masquerading as one). This vacation will be full of parties at sea and on land, on the brand’s private island, Perfect Day at Coco Cay, and starting next year, at the Royal Beach Club in Nassau. All while drifting blissfully with virtually no discernible movement on the ocean, down the Floridian east coast, still within sight of land in the distance off the starboard side, on the way to the Caribbean Sea.
With such short sailings, you might think that art and art auctions don’t have a place on what surely will be jam-packed agendas as passengers try to see and do as much as possible between embarkation day and the moment they tearfully start rolling their luggage off while disembarking this glistening new ship.
We spoke with Nelson, the lead Park West auctioneer on board Utopia, about the unique challenges and exciting opportunities to engage with passengers on 3 and 4-day cruises on a ship overflowing with entertainment options.
The avuncular Portuguese auctioneer with a wealth of experience on short cruises says he and his team understand that their time with guests, like the itineraries themselves, is limited. It’s one reason they stocked the curved deck 4 gallery space connecting the Casino Royale with The Attic, Studio B, and the Crown Lounge with art that will speak to first-time passengers and seasoned collectors alike, art with an attractive story by artists with tales equally as riveting. They are ready to deliver fun, educational art seminars, guess-the-weight-of-art contests, art scavenger hunts, exclusive VIP cocktail parties, special exhibitions, and thrilling fast-paced auctions every bit as humorous, entertaining, and memorable as theatrical performances in the Royal Theater and country rock bands and singer-songwriters busking in pubs like The Mason Jar.
With a digital collection of art at their fingertips and the ability to bring up hundreds of thousands of available works of art in an instant, the walls of the gallery will be lined with bold, bright, and beautiful paintings by favorites like Peter Max, Kre8, Michael Godard, Mark Kostabi, Marcus Glenn, and Nano López sculptures. Because time is at a premium, this gives Park West staff the opportunity to showcase familiar art that collectors may already love and want to collect while on vacation and tell lively little stories about exciting artists to guests walking through an art gallery for the very first time.
The reality that art can be collected straight from the gallery outside of an auction is also a key talking point on Utopia of the Seas because the actual pounding of the gavel and the opportunity to indulge in a free glass of champagne while artwork by Picasso, Rembrandt, and other masters is brought on stage along with contemporary greats may ultimately conflict with any number of other attractions or shows, like ice skating, trivia, karaoke, poker, dodgeball or pickleball tournaments, rock climbing competitions, salsa dancing classes, surfing lessons, or seminars on posture and well-being. There is no shortage of things to do on board Utopia of the Seas so guests can experience a powerful work of art in the gallery and collect it straight away without fear of being outbid!
There are tantalizing new dining concepts on board, like Utopia Station and Royal Railway simulating a classy dining train car going across the American West (a la the Hogwarts Express train experience at nearby Universal Studios), brand new shows All In and AQUA80too, and more live music and dance parties than found in the hippest part of a big city. But throughout it all will be the steady, visually spectacular art in the Park West Gallery. Stop in to meet Nelson and the team, look at the art, and find a work that makes your home or office more of a utopian paradise you can enjoy every single day.
If you have a cruise booked this summer, let Park West know. We can make your vacation at sea even more special with a complimentary $100 art credit plus a free gift when you check-in at the onboard art gallery! Click HERE to register for your next cruise adventure!
