Diane Gilman... is the end nigh

[shopperholic]

Oh no, you wouldn't get me on a cruise/ship/boat.........I've seen Titanic!

 

[yorkrose26]

I am starting to think that they are at the beginning of perhaps a very long downward spiral, given that they now have more and more 'in-house' brands and they are still charging what I consider 'the earth' for these brands. Brands such as 'with sleeves' (new dress designs), Mayfair manor and northern nightsboth in my opinion seem overpriced for what they are. There is also of course 'the gnomes' brand of products. They then have showcase brands such as Yankee Candles and Yong Kim and Kim and Co the latter two only being available on QVC UK but all three of the aforementioned brands are very overpriced. With regards to Yankee Candles I think people are finally waking up to the fact that if you 'pick and choose' your own favourites then you can perhaps getter better value, as whilst monetarily it may be a tad more expensive, you are going to get exactly what you want, so you are going to therefore enjoy all the fragrances and not just enforced fragrances that Q have put together.

No with the fact of exclusives to the UK and in-house brands then Q has a good control over how much it charges for these products, thus the QVC price is not going to be necessarily competitive because there are no competitors in this country for that particular brand, thus they can charge what they like and leave it to the mugs/shoppers to see whether they can actually get away (which they usually can) with charging as they do.

 

[Suki 1]

My cruise nightmare is in the news this morning - hundreds of passengers stuck on board a ship that isn't allowed to dock anywhere because norovirus is running rife. No doubt it won't be long before all the toilets stop working and the food runs out etc.. I'm sure it's rare when it happens, but no thanks. Also, Carla and Jilly are always banging on about their cruises, so it can't all be old people. Unless they choose quiet ships that go to quiet destinations?

A friend of mine rung me this morning, he is on a P & O Ventura Cruise, he said there was a lot of turbulence and they had just landed in Portugal and it was pouring with rain!!

 

[maymorganlondon]

Oh no, you wouldn't get me on a cruise/ship/boat.........I've seen Titanic!

LOL :mysmilie_17:
A cruise, to me, is the embodiment of "hell is other people". I could, and have, taken a ship to get somewhere, but can't really fancy going on a ship as an end in itself.

 

[shopperholic]

LOL :mysmilie_17:
A cruise, to me, is the embodiment of "hell is other people". I could, and have, taken a ship to get somewhere, but can't really fancy going on a ship as an end in itself.

I agree, it's like spending a fortnight all inclusive on a plane, or even a bus. :mysmilie_17:

 

[Weathergirl]

I went one one cruise, sailing from Sydney across to New Zealand. Very luxurious, but definitely lots of cons as well as pros. Cons included-an abundance of AAA's (aged, awful, Americans) who definitely did dress in head to toe QVC, were so very loud, who asked me (in all seriousness) what country my "pretty red passport" was from. A big con was having to share meals with strangers when we were on honeymoon, or pay through the nose for a-la-carte. All the on board jewellery stores were OTT bling and daylight robbery. When you went on paid excursions you felt like cattle being herded. (We rebelled and did our own thing). The god -awful woman who was travelling alone and complained about children playing (as children do) in the communal area where she was sitting with a face like a slapped-arse. The poor gentleman who left the ship at Tasmania in a casket (I suspect cruise ships see a lot of that). There were plusses though. The fantastic staff. The outstanding entertainment (if you like cabaret-we didn't! ). The fact that we were followed by dolphins. The relaxing way to get from A to B without being tired. Waking up somewhere new every day. Sailing out of Sydney harbour at night. Sailing out of Port Chalmers to a lone piper. My Elemis facial. So it was ok too. But bliddy expensive! Would I do it again? Probably not. But hope you enjoy it Julius!

 

[Crinkly]

Yes, I don't think I will cruise again.

It definitely had its fantastic moments, but they were mainly giggling at the astonishing behaviour of the other passengers. They made me wish I wasn't British. Those poor staff having to deal with such nonsense. Cringeable.

 

[Caroleanne]

I only watched a few minutes of the 11 pm outlet show and it looked like you had to be a size 8 or 22 to be able to buy, they must really want to off load the brand with easy pay on reduced prices !!

 

[Starlight]

There was a Diane Gilman TSV on QVC France in February and in April on the HSN channel in the US and she presented both of them, she's also been tweeting in April that she has launched a new collection.

Was there no mention of her new collection on the Outlet shows? I think Spanx may have gone too, no shows for ages and most items on clearance.

 

[Julius]

I agree, it's like spending a fortnight all inclusive on a plane, or even a bus. :mysmilie_17:

Stop it. STOP! I'm dreading this. I'm supposed to pen something "interesting" about it. I can't even pen anything interesting when it's interesting half the time, let alone when it's dull! Still it's a chance to try something new. I must admit I quite like the idea of waking up in another country. It's a change of pace, too. A step out from the rat race.

I always remember an episode of Columbo where he was investigating a murder aboard a cruise ship. At one point a guest invited Columbo to try his hand at throwing quoit rings and he just flung it overboard! I was killing myself laughing at that scene! I love Columbo and am going to buy the box set of DVD's at some point.

 

[shopperholic]

Stop it. STOP! I'm dreading this. I'm supposed to pen something "interesting" about it. I can't even pen anything interesting when it's interesting half the time, let alone when it's dull! Still it's a chance to try something new. I must admit I quite like the idea of waking up in another country. It's a change of pace, too. A step out from the rat race.

I always remember an episode of Columbo where he was investigating a murder aboard a cruise ship. At one point a guest invited Columbo to try his hand at throwing quoit rings and he just flung it overboard! I was killing myself laughing at that scene! I love Columbo and am going to buy the box set of DVD's at some point.

Yeah, I love Columbo............. I'm sure there's more to do than on a plane or a bus. :mysmilie_17: Write about the activities and interview people to see why they chose to cruise (I'll give you that) One more thing, keep your fingers crossed a disheveled, one eyed American, in a dirty Mac doesn't turn up, and I don't mean a detective (if you know what I'm saying :mysmilie_13

 

[maymorganlondon]

Stop it. STOP! I'm dreading this. I'm supposed to pen something "interesting" about it. I can't even pen anything interesting when it's interesting half the time, let alone when it's dull! Still it's a chance to try something new. I must admit I quite like the idea of waking up in another country. It's a change of pace, too. A step out from the rat race.

I always remember an episode of Columbo where he was investigating a murder aboard a cruise ship. At one point a guest invited Columbo to try his hand at throwing quoit rings and he just flung it overboard! I was killing myself laughing at that scene! I love Columbo and am going to buy the box set of DVD's at some point.

I think you should get something very interesting out of it... you can talk to "regulars" and find out why they find cruising so appealing... you can talk to newbies and find out what their feelings are about it - what they like and don't like. It will be a great place for people watching, I don't doubt.

 

[Julius]

Yeah, I love Columbo............. I'm sure there's more to do than on a plane or a bus. :mysmilie_17: Write about the activities and interview people to see why they chose to cruise (I'll give you that) One more thing, keep your fingers crossed a disheveled, one eyed American, in a dirty Mac doesn't turn up, and I don't mean a detective (if you know what I'm saying :mysmilie_13

Yes, it will probably be fine. I imagine the people cruising will be fairly worldly and will have seen something of life. Hopefully they'll have some interesting stories to tell. I'm going to try and contact Derek Marks from Cruise TV. He presents for them and will probably be very knowledgeable, plus he seems like a really nice bloke.

I quite like the idea of travelling long distance on a train - like the Orient Express. That would be great. Still if I don't produce something interesting about the cruise, my ship might just sink. I don't know why I have been so disparaging of cruises. I'd quite like to hire a narrowboat and travel up and down the waterways, so it's not the idea of being on a slow boat, it's more the whole being tied to a schedule and being far out at sea that I don't like so much.

 

[Julius]

I only went on one cruise and it was my first and last. Couldn't do with being so organised, meal times etc. Those ****** tannoy announcements for people going on trips ashore drove me mad.

Wasn't there anything you liked about the cruise / ship / destinations / people you met / things you saw, Betty?

 

[Julius]

I think you should get something very interesting out of it... you can talk to "regulars" and find out why they find cruising so appealing... you can talk to newbies and find out what their feelings are about it - what they like and don't like. It will be a great place for people watching, I don't doubt.

Thanks, May. You're right. There will be different people going for different reasons, all with a story somewhere.

 

[Julius]

I don't know why, I just have this horrendous vision of all these people wearing Michele Hope stretchy lace / Diane Gilman rhinestone-studded / sequinned jeans / Quacker Factory jumpers or Nina Leonard skirts, clutching their Kipling bags, and worse still one or two may sport a Butler & Wilson "dancing couple" / skull / hideous eye brooch, or one of those 80s bejewelled spider brooches on their shoulders like this:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v_1YDEWig...+dress+and+lydia+deets+dress+047+fav+edit.jpg

And look at this Michele Hope tunic:

http://www.qvcuk.com/Sequin-V-Neck-...t.157093.html?cm_sp=VIEWPOSITION-_-1-_-157093

 

[China Girl]

Be sure to post on here when you return Julius.....leaving no detail out!