In the world of “cruise news you don’t hear every day” two cruisers allegedly stole two pieces of art from a Carnival ship on a recent cruise from Baltimore to Bermuda.
ABC News is reporting that the FBI is accusing two Carnival Cruise Line passengers of stealing two sculptures worth about $13,000 during the early morning hours of their cruise aboard Carnival Legend.
While Carnival Cruise Line ships do feature “an ever-changing collection of fine art” and customers are able to “sip some champagne, browse the gallery and bid on pieces to take home as a trip memento,” during onboard auctions, these cruisers allegedly took the artwork without paying, or even bidding.
According to court documents, an art auctioneer aboard the ship discovered the pieces were missing on October 1, 2023, the day after the ship returned to Baltimore after a week at sea. The pieces were identified in the same documents as sculptures “Kiss the Sea” and “Tappin’ the Keys for the Love.”
Once the pieces were identified as missing, Carnival security reviewed surveillance camera footage on the ship. It revealed two people entering the art gallery “empty-handed” at 2 a.m. on September 29, 2023, but walking out several minutes later with objects “consistent in appearance with the missing sculptures.”
Upon investigation, the people were identified and a federal judge issued a search warrant. The FBI then executed the search warrant at the homes of the alleged art thieves, and a spokesperson with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Baltimore says the missing sculptures were recovered during the search.
“Kiss the Sea” is a Lucite sculpture by American artist Robert Wyland which depicts two sea turtles. The piece is the size of a small backpack and valued at $6,200. “Tappin’ the Keys for the Love” is a slightly smaller piece by American artist Marcus Glenn depicting a man playing a piano keyboard with a red heart in the background. It is valued at $6,600.