I Got Accidentally Wealthy at a Royal Caribbean Art Auction

Look, I'll be honest with you—I didn't plan to attend the art auction on Adventure of the Seas. I was supposed to be napping, recouping from the all-you-can-eat wingtings at the Windjammer Café and preparing for a night of strategic trivia competition. But my cabin mate Sarah had other ideas. She'd seen a posting on the Royal Caribbean app about a "complimentary champagne reception and art presentation" happening in the Atrium, and she looked at me with those determined eyes that I'd learned to recognize over the past four days at sea. "Come on," she said, already halfway out the door. "It's free champagne. How bad could it be?" Looking back now, I recognize that as the moment I should have locked the cabin door and pretended to be asleep. But I didn't. I grabbed my room key card and followed her out into the bustling hallway of Deck 5, where we were staying in one of the interior cabins that I'd somehow convinced myself was "cozy" when I booked the cruise three months ago. The Atrium was predictably crowded. Adventure of the Seas' atrium spans eleven decks, and on this particular evening, it seemed like half the ship's 3,100 passengers had also decided that free champagne was wor…