Splashing in the pool, sipping tropical drinks, lounging in the sun are just some of the fun activities people do on a cruise.

And then there's an art auction!

They're fun and enticing because the people who run them say if you buy fine art at sea, you can get real bargains…from Norman Rockwell to Pablo Picasso. 

But is it a real bargain or should the buyer beware?

Teri Franks runs a website that registers and tracks fine art.  She's become an outspoken critic of art auctions on cruises and has also become an advocate for people who now believe they grossly overpaid for the art they purchased. 

Jordan and Stephanie Hillin bid at an auction.  While on a Caribbean cruise, the Salt Lake City newlyweds, who say they know nothing about art, attended an auction run by Park West Gallery, a company that contracts with cruise lines to sell art onboard ships.  The Hillins say before they knew it, they'd opened up a charge account and spent nearly $5,000 on artwork they say they were told was not only a bargain but a great investment.

Back on land, the couple wanted to see how their investment was doing.  They were shocked when they say they found a similar piece by artist Peter Max they had paid $3,000, being sold on the internet for a third of that price.

Jordan says, “We went on eBay to sell it …it's going at $800 to $1,000.”

INSIDE EDITION tried to resell some of the other artwork the couple bought.  With hidden cameras, INSIDE EDITION visited several shops and galleries in New York City.

One art dealer had no interest and said to check with some poster shops.

A print shop owner said people often come in trying to sell art they've bought on a cruise.  When asked if he would purchase the artwork for the price paid for the piece at a cruise art auction, the owner said no, saying the artwork was not worth it.

At a prominent New York City print shop, the owner took one look at some of the Hillins' Park West purchases and made his own assessment.  “This is like poster stuff that I sell for $20,” he said.

INSIDE EDITION hadn't even told him where the artwork came from, and the owner asked, “Where did she get it? On a boat?”  He then shook his head saying, “It's the sea air that does it to you. You get out there on the high seas.”

Park West, the art auction company, told INSIDE EDITION in a letter that while it “has a policy of not selling art as an investment”, much of the art it sells “has appreciated dramatically.”  In addition, Park West says it has documentation that shows the Hillins’ artwork is worth more than what they paid.

Jim and Julie Russell of Las Vegas say they were on a cruise along the Mexican Riviera when they bought fine art at a Park West auction.  They say the auctioneer told them it was all a great investment.

“We made it very clear to them that we were inexperienced in buying art and that we did rely on their opinion totally,” Julie tells INSIDE EDITION.

So the Russells paid $27,000 for three pieces of art!  But the couple soon suspected they had grossly overpaid.  One print says it’s 1 of 350 numbered lithographs by Toulouse-Lautrec.  The Russells paid Park West $8,500 dollars for one print, one of 350 numbered lithographs by Toulouse-Lautrec, but they say when they got home, they found the same print in the series being sold for much less.

“One of the 350 of these out there had sold publicly for $1,700,” says Julie.

A $6,800 difference!  After INSIDE EDITION interviewed the Russells, they say Park West agreed to take back all the artwork and refund their money.

Art expert Barden Prisant says he continues to hear from cruise passengers seeking an appraisal on what they thought would be a good investment.  Prisant says he has to give the cruise-goers the bad news “that their cruise was not the dream voyage they had hoped it would be.” 

Park West takes issue with Teri Franks’s website, Fine Art Registry, saying it's confusing customers and using innuendo and falsehoods.  It also says it has more than a million customers, the vast majority of them repeat buyers who have been happy with their purchases.  Art purchasers the fine print, in its documents, Park West says it’s not bound by any representations it's salespeople make…unless they are in writing.