Swimming pools, saunas, and zen gardens: luxury cruise ships have all manner of extraordinary features on board.
The latest trend defining high-end sailing, however, is art.
From Picasso paintings brightening up the deck to workshops with renowned contemporary artists, here’s how cruising is going creative.
The only Fabergé egg at sea
Forget generic prints; luxury cruise lines are decorating their ships with art collections worthy of a museum.
In 2023, Regent Seven Seas Cruises unveiled its 1,600-piece collection housed on its newest vessel, Seven Seas Grandeur.
“With each new ship, our team works tirelessly to identify and source the most impressive array of art pieces, building a collection that would be enviable by most modern-day museums,” said Andrea DeMarco, President of Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
The collection includes a specially commissioned Fabergé egg, the first and only to reside permanently at sea, according to the company.
There is also a 12-metre-tall hand-woven tapestry by Brazilian artist Walter Goldfarb in the ship’s atrium and a custom-made bronze and glass Bonsai Cherry Tree Sculpture by Savoy Studios at the entrance to the pan-Asian restaurant.
Art expert Bleu Bosworth, founder and dealer of contemporary gallery Optima Contemporary, says exhibitions on cruise ships tap into broader shifts in the way modern art is consumed.
“A cruise ship allows art to exist outside the conventional white-cube gallery and to be encountered in a much more organic way by a global audience,” he says.
“In many ways, that aligns with the ethos of many contemporary artists, particularly those working in urban or public art, whose work was never intended to exist only within institutional walls.”
From Picasso to Andy Warhol
The big names of the art world are well represented at sea.
“The strongest cruise collections treat art with the same curatorial rigour you would expect from a major gallery or museum, selecting works that have a voice, a point of view, and a cultural relevance, rather than simply filling space,” says Bosworth.
Oceania Cruises is adorned with more than 2,000 original works personally acquired by founder Frank J. Del Rio and co-founder Bob Binder. The two Oceania Cruises executives reportedly travelled the globe hand-selecting every piece of art.
The company’s ships are now home to works by Picasso and Miró, the modern art of Robert Mars and Damien Hirst, and pieces by emerging artists such as Li Domíguez Fong and Carlos Luna.
In a nod to Del Rio’s Cuban heritage, the collection also features an array of celebrated Cuban artists, including Wifredo Lam, Cundo Bermúdez and René Portocarrero.
Explora Journey’s Explora I features limited-edition screen prints and lithographs by Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, and guests can delve deep into their stories during onboard lectures by art curators.
Uniworld’s lavishly eclectic interiors have stellar art stashed in every corner, from Matisse and Chagall to Picasso and Miró.
The SS Bon Voyage, which sails to Bordeaux, features Miró’s Figure in the Night painting on the wall of the suite.
The SS Beatrice, which travels the Rhine and the Danube, dazzles with marble floors, mirrored walls and Murano glass chandeliers. The lobby is graced by a colourful, life-sized glass horse by Pino Signoretto, considered one of the most significant glass artists of the 21st century.
Art auctions and painting workshops
Art demonstrations, workshops and auctions are also becoming staple offerings on luxury cruises.
Park West Gallery in Michigan has partnered with dozens of cruise lines to host art auctions on board. They are mainly attended for their entertainment value, as high-energy events fuelled by free champagne.
While you won’t be able to snag a Picasso, there are often some decent pieces by artists like Alexandre Renoir, the great-grandson of Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Orlando Quevedo, a Cuban producing magic realist works.
Celebrity Cruises has partnered with Hollywood Hot Glass, where demonstrators forge glass sculptures in a 2,000C oven. Guests can also book a session with an artist to try out making their own glass souvenir.
Windstar Cruises operates specialised art-themed sailings where guests can observe live art installations and join painting workshops.
On a recent Masterpieces at Sea trip aboard Star Legend, an art historian also joined the cruise to deliver three presentations focused on art history and art forms connected to the ports of call – Livorno, Nice, and Barcelona.
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