Missing Art. Need contact info help

[Iggipolka]

My wife bought several pieces of art while we were on our March cruise on the Magic. They haven't been delivered yet and it's now July, so well past the 6 week delivery time.
We've lost the receipt (I know, stupid, but when you have a 1 year old, things go missing all the time) and don't have any idea who to call to find out what happened to our purchases.

Anyone have contact info for the Art Dealer on the Disney Ships? Thanks!

 

[owensjro]

West End Gallery, Inc
6545 Nova Drive, Suite 206
Davie, Florida 33317

1-888-658-3569
cs@westendgalleryinc.com

Good luck!
Jim

 

[Iggipolka]

Thank you so much! This is so helpful.

 

[NurseNash]

We were on an early March cruise and bought three pieces at the art auction. One piece arrived about 4 weeks ago and the other two arrived TODAY (7/9/10). They are WAY behind and I called twice to get updates. I was quite irritated that they were so far behind and did not even bother to attempt to contact me. But the good news is all three pieces are beautiful- they were packed extremely well and arrived with letters of authentication.

 

[Bullseyebaby]

Wow... I thought I was the only one. We are still waiting for our piece from April 1st cruise. I've called twice to get the update and was told they were being ordered. What??? It's a limited edition piece, so what did they have to order? It will be interesting to see if anyone else posts about their experience.

 

[princess81499]

We were on the 08 Panama Canal Repo and it took us 5 months to get our artwork (different company then) . I will never again buy any artwork while onboard.

 

[degrapevine]

Well, it's the same story here, I've been waiting for a limited edition piece purchased on our April cruise to arrive. It's been ten weeks, people - and I'm in FL, so slow shipping can't be the problem. They said that they are waiting to receive the piece from their distributor and that it should be here in another two weeks. You can bet I'll be calling them again in two weeks if it hasn't shown up. If West End knows that they can't deliver in the time period they say, they need to just change their terms rather than promise something they can't follow through on. I'm sure the piece will be beautiful when it arrives (I already have the perfect place on the wall for it), but paying for something three months ago and not having it yet is a bit of a downer. Why can't they wait to bill for the art until they ship? Although, since it's added to the onboard charges, I guess they'd have to bill separately. Great product, lousy customer service.

Rose

 

[Iggipolka]

Wow. In a way I'm relieved to hear that other people are experiencing extremely long wait times for delivery, but it also ticks me off. If they know that the deliver date is longer than the 4-6 weeks, than just say that up front! If I know it's going to take 4-5 months to get something, I'd be less anxious/pissed than thinking it's coming sooner.

 

[thechief]

Gee this sounds familiar. We also were on a March cruise on the 6th. We had to be persistent after months of waiting. We finally received our 5 pieces after contacting Disney, DCI and the gallery.

 

[Bullseyebaby]

ha ha ha.... after calling back in July and being told "oh we'll have it out to you in 2 more weeks....Disney art is very popular". Guess what... a MONTH later, no print. Called today and said it will be sent out in the next day or two. I'm sorry...but Disney Cruise Line should not allow a vendor to treat customers that way. I'm writing a letter.... has everyone else received their art? I bought it April 1st and still don't have it in my hand. No apologies, no letter telling me what's going on. Ridiculous.

 

[tvguy]

The whole art auction thing has gotten so bad that some cruises lines are dropping it altogether.

 

[BBQMommy]

Just curious: was taking the item with you off the ship an option or do all art purchases have to be shipped?

Thank you -

 

[MoranClan]

I may have you all beat. We were on the Magic November of 08, for a western cruise, My artwork showed up this May.

I wanted my money back, and called numerous times. Finally I spoke with someone who actually cared, and I received my art.

For no extra charge, they sent me an Artist's print and the number of the piece I wanted.

I will never buy art onboard again.

But, I am extremely happy the way it worked out. Manny Hernandez is the artist, and he was onboard when I purchased the piece. I have photos of him and I standing next to the piece.

 

[engle]

SHUT UP!!! I was really really hoping to have my art work by October...I bought it July 15th....guess that probably won't happen!!

 

[DisneyCruiser83]

I was just called by the company base in Ft. Lauderdale and they said they lost the entire shipment of 20+ pieces from the EBTA! I purchased a lithograph from Ducky Williams, and thankfully he agreed to re-sign another one and they will send it out after Ducky is able to take care of it. The person I spoke to said for my patience I will receive "a token of our appreciation", but I have no idea what that may be. If you purchased something on the EBTA, I would contact the gallery if you have not heard from them.

BBQMommy: It depends on what you purchase. Some items they have ready for walk-off, but other pieces need to be shipped from land or in my case, be signed by the creator.

 

[ALBA]

This is all very strange.

We bought a piece of art on the Wonder cruise mid april this year. We told them that we were still on vacation for 2 weeks after the cruise and he said don't worry as we lived in Europe the shipping would probably take around 3-4 weeks.

Well 4 days before we returned home I got a call on my cell, it was UPS asking if I was home to take delivery of a parcel from Disney to which I said no, we are still on vacation in Florida. Apparently this was the second attempt at delivery, so it seems our delivery had only taken around 1 week all the way to Europe.

Alba

 

[degrapevine]

Well, it's the same story here ... Our cruise ended April 15th and still no art. The first time I called (at 10 weeks), they said it was coming from their warehouse and I should receive it in a few more weeks. Fast forward another 5 weeks, I call again, and they say that they sold more pieces than were allotted because their distributor did not inform them that they had sold out of the number of limited editions. Their reasoning now is that they have contacted the artist and he has released enough of his personal artist proofs which are now being sent to them to be framed. I was told I would receive a call this week updating the status of my piece. Guess what - No phone call. I'm getting very frustrated and if I could find this artwork somewhere else, I'd demand they cancel my order, but I really want it. Too bad their customer service is so bad. I'll never buy from them again unless it's a piece I can carry off the ship. Can't they find an auction company with good service?

 

[Bullseyebaby]

ha ha ha.... after calling back in July and being told "oh we'll have it out to you in 2 more weeks....Disney art is very popular". Guess what... a MONTH later, no print. Called today and said it will be sent out in the next day or two. I'm sorry...but Disney Cruise Line should not allow a vendor to treat customers that way. I'm writing a letter.... has everyone else received their art? I bought it April 1st and still don't have it in my hand. No apologies, no letter telling me what's going on. Ridiculous.

What a surprise (sarcastic)... no art yet.... hmm... when I call on Monday (12 days after I called last)... what do you think they'll tell me now?

 

[owensjro]

I called after 6 weeks (the invoice says delivery within 4) and was told that they were changing their invoices because 4 weeks just wasn't reasonable. When she checked on our art she found they had not purchased it yet. I reminded her that they supposedly already owned the entire set and she had no answer. She told me they were putting in an order in 3 weeks and I should get it then. Right.

Well, it's been 4 weeks since then. Still nothing. I'm calling again next week and will begin calling every day until I get my art.

Jim

 

[degrapevine]

Well ... My art piece finally showed up on Tuesday. West End called to let me know it had been shipped 3 hours after I had received a call from UPS advising me of a package that would arrive that day requiring a signature. Sure enough, it came that afternoon, securely packaged in a large box with lots of bubble wrap. It is beautiful and well worth what I paid for it, but after waiting 18 AND A HALF WEEKS (Our cruise ended April 15, so that's not a typo, folks), I wouldn't buy another piece on board unless it was a "walk-off," and those are few and far between. Too bad, because the art is wonderful and if you're cautious you can get it for a decent price, but the length of time for delivery is simply unacceptable. Hope everyone else's art shows up sooner than mine did!