silent auction

[ganurse]

has anyone ever done the silient auction? i know 2 years ago we paid a lot of money for a huge picture of the magic being put together in 3 different pictures. they shipped it to us and it has sooo many scratches on it! has anyone had this experience?

 

[d'Isigny]

yep - we had a challenging experience with the silent auction. Our item came in *rough shape*....
After numerous e-mails to DCL...they exchanged the item.

Good luck

 

[ganurse]

we also had numerous calls to disney but then the more we looked at the picture, the more authentic it looked! hahahaha

 

[immalemon]

do they do a silent auction on the 4 night cruise?

 

[2xcruiser]

We were on the 4 day Wonder trip in early March, and bid on an item - a captain's hat, signed by the captain. it is a great sovenir - no issues like those described - very little bidding went on for most items.

 

[BearFan]

We bid on and won a large piece of artwork from the Wonder. When it ultimately arrived at home, a large gouge from the center edge of the wooden frame stood out like a sore thumb. It was not there on the ship. You could tell it was fresh. It took a long while to find the right person to call and even longer for them to respond to our calls but I ended up faxing reframing quotes and e-mailing digital photos. After 6 months of back and forth, DCL picked it up and after an another few, reframed it for us. It took nearly a year, but it got done. I tried to get any sort of documentation on the piece from them but that was impossible. I do have my original bill of sale but that's about it. No one could tell me anything about the piece, reportedly a final rendered image from Fantasia 2000. I hope I don't have difficulty reselling it, but I may. It is a fabulous image of the Bird of Fire but who knows?
In short, think it through before buying anything from on board at an auction if you cannot take it with you.

Feel free to contact me if you need names and numbers at DCL.
Bearfan

 

[inkkognito]

Definitely try to take it with you, especially if you are flying at a time of year when the planes are not crowded.
A year ago, I had my beloved stateroom picture (the one that shows the ship with little circles that have pictures of people doing various things...a guy in a lounge chair, a couple dancing, a chef cooking lobster, etc.) and faced the challenge of returning it to Chicago. It hangs above the beds in the staterooms so it is HUGE! They wrapped it really good in bubble wrap, and at the airport, the ATA agent advised me to see if the flight attendants would let me bring it on the plane because it might get damaged even if it was gate checked. The flight wasn't too crowded, so the FAs put it in a bin (it took up a whole one) and then made sure that only light items like purses and coats went into the bin. It made it home in perfect shape, and now it graces my wall to give me a little cruise line "fix" between trips. I don't know if all airlines are as nice as ATA, but I was really pleased with their assistance. Prior to that, I had a large framed and signed Don Williams print, and they put it between a seat and the wall for me to keep it safe.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[TheTexasKid]

Ye-es. Once.

It was a copy of an autographed book. I have forgotten the title of the book and the author, but, it was offered because it was published by Hyperion Press, which is a subsidary of the Walt Disney Company.

After I had won it, I gave it to the second highest bidder. The thrill for me is in the chase, not in the winning. So one I have won something, the thrill is gone. Anyway the second highest bidder was a child, and I never like to compete against a child. They are too easy to beat, and my giving the book to him soothed my conscience.

I do think they are (were) silent auctions on the four day cruises, as the last cruise I was on was a four day cruise, and one item I wanted to bid on, was a white jacket worn by the chefs on the ship. I wanted to win it, then give it to my BIL, who is thinking about going to chef school. But, I didn't put a bid in on it because, I had no easy way to get it to him, as he lives half way across the country from me. The minimum bid was what ever price they put on the jacket, and I think it was something like $200.00. Of course, going up from there. And the auction was set to conclude, when I would be at dinner, as I had a late seating that cruise, and, thus, I would not have been there to pick it up, if I had put in the high bid. Like I was there to pick the book, as I had an early dinner seating that cruise.

 

[inkkognito]

Even if the auction concludes while you are at dinner, they will leave a message in your stateroom and you have a while (I think it's till 11) to pick up your item. We just bought a framed picture of the ship on our last cruise.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[Carlnne]

On a 4-day two years ago we bid on a huge framed picture of various dining menus. We paid extra to have it shipped and it took forever. We called several times and it finally arrived. We had planned to take apart and individually frame each menu but it was arranged and matted so nice we left it. Dont remember what we paid but there were very few bids and it was reasonable.

 

[Luv2Dream]

Oh dear. We just bought a lithograph signed by
Donald "Ducky" Williams (personalized on the back with a long message) at the silent auction on the Disney Magic. Now I'm nervous about the condition of it once I get it. Gosh, I hope this doesn't happen to me. If I had read this before I went, I probably wouldn't have bid at all.

 

[Mjasp]

As the auction nears the end, do people stand there to be sure they win and aren't overbid by someone else?

 

[TheTexasKid]

While what inkkognito said is true, that wouldn't work for me. As soon as I lay down the winning auction bid, I want whatever I bid on in my hand as quickly as possible. Even being there at the end of the auction, I think it took them a half hour to get what I bid on out to me.

As for what Mjasp said. Oh, ye-es. If people want something bad enough, they will stand there to make sure they win and are not outbid. At least it happened at the one auction I bid on something. Of course, this means the final bid often exceeds the value of the item bid on. LOL!

And I have heard that this has led to problems, as some people will hog the clipboard on which the bids are placed, so no one else but them can put a bid on the item they want.

Still, imy recommendation is, if you see something you want at the silent auction, then go for it.

 

[din]

On our recent cruise there was a statue of captain mickey up for bid, which I was interested in but it got to high for my taste. Anyway, there was an item there that was popular and I saw someone put in a bid. As soon as she put down the pen a person standing nearby grabbed the clipboard and put another bid and glared at the other bidder.. if glaring eyes can kill... ...there would be dead bodies at the end of the cruise...

 

[HooKooDooKu]

We were on board both the Magic and Wonder the first years they sailed. We purchases some souvinears like the 1st year posters and the "Mickey at the Wheel" pocket watch.

I've always loved seeing these exact same items in some of the silent auctions for $$$.