[Krys]

"Exciting News"

A clue to Exciter, maybe? are they ruled out yet?

I'd be insanely happy to have Exciter on the ship .

And I'm totally fine with some more weenie stuff, I guess I lean a bit more towards weenie than brutal... but either way, it's gonna be great so ON WITH THE ANNOUNCEMENTS!!! The masses are getting restless!!!!

[manamachine]

For those of us who do like power/heavy metal...I'd just like to point out that Pretty Maids and Primal Fear are already going to be onboard. Clearly this means Edguy, Unisonic, and Anvil are coming, right? ;D

https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/ ... 4ce57c0ffc

[broegaard]

Pretty Maids is not power metal. They are almost 80s hair metal...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bYdAIQFLm0

[manamachine]

Pretty Maids is not power metal. They are almost 80s hair metal...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bYdAIQFLm0

Of course, but Edguy/Unisonic are (power/heavy metal), and they've been touring with PM.

[Azazel101]

I really hope you get them cause I all ready have too many sets to catch
I will need some down time
going to be a rough year for me
might have to cut back on the drinking just to see what I want to see and with the extra stage, Damn
Great Job Andy

[Madkill]

THIS...

I'll swap the beer package for 22 good bands!!!!

[cowboy71]

Pretty Maids is not power metal. They are almost 80s hair metal...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bYdAIQFLm0

Of course, but Edguy/Unisonic are (power/heavy metal), and they've been touring with PM.

Kiske is allegedly not the most fan-friendly individual and has no interest at all in being trapped on a boat with a bunch of fans. Kai seems to enjoy cruises though so maybe he can convince Michael otherwise?

But yeah - I'm not getting my hopes up for Unisonic. Much more likely to get Helloween or Gamma Ray again.

[Razor Ramon]

At what point will we have less bands to announce than days before the cruise?


+1 on girlie bands. I would be all for At Sixes And Sevens era Sirenia, I used to love that band but I think their newest stuff is terrible. I seen them at Graspop in Belgium in 2005, caught them just in time before they went to shit.
+1 on My Dying Bride and doom metal, in the death doom or funeral variety.
-1000 on power metal, no thanks.

[GregoryOfTheNorth]

At what point will we have less bands to announce than days before the cruise?.

Technically we would have to travel back in time to hit this milestone.

[cowboy71]

At what point will we have less bands to announce than days before the cruise?.

Technically we would have to travel back in time to hit this milestone.

LOL.

I think his meaning was that we've hit the one band per day, how long will it now take to get back to being at more days than bands again.

I'm guessing we won't. Probably have bands announced on the day of the cruise.

[GregoryOfTheNorth]

At what point will we have less bands to announce than days before the cruise?.

Technically we would have to travel back in time to hit this milestone.

LOL.

I think his meaning was that we've hit the one band per day, how long will it now take to get back to being at more days than bands again.

I'm guessing we won't. Probably have bands announced on the day of the cruise.

Yeah, I don't foresee any possibility other than 70,000 Tons of Last Minute Announcements either.

[GregoryOfTheNorth]

I mean, realistically, 38 / 60 of 70,000 Tons have been announced, so a smarter person could say there are only 25,666 Tons of Announcements left to make, but then that invites the debate over which bands are heavier than which bands, and that just unnecessarily complicates the calculation.

[cowboy71]

I mean, realistically, 38 / 60 of 70,000 Tons have been announced, so a smarter person could say there are only 25,666 Tons of Announcements left to make, but then that invites the debate over which bands are heavier than which bands, and that just unnecessarily complicates the calculation.

And then lets not forget there are actually 154,000 tons. The 70,000 Tons is just a nod to the past.



But back to the question at hand. An announcement today is unlikely, and weekend announcements are rare, so that would mean Monday at the earliest for the next announcement.

Which would put it at about 22 bands in 16 days. It would take a lot of announcements in quick succession to bring that back to parity. And that would obviously lessen the impact and 'wow factor' of the announcements.

Unless of course the bulk of the remaining bands are just filler and will have no 'wow factor' anyway.

[Dimma]

Surely all of the 'heavy hitters' are off the menu now. It'll just be filler. Maybe some good filler. But filler all the same.

[Memnoch]

I really hope we only get some "filler bands". Most of my favourites are considered fillers and, frankly, most of the rumoured bigger acts are shite.

[gundiesalvo]

I wonder if Andy will wait another 8 days and go for the "twice as many bands as days left" landmark...

[RootOfAllEvil]

It would take a lot of announcements in quick succession to bring that back to parity. And that would obviously lessen the impact and 'wow factor' of the announcements.

Unless of course the bulk of the remaining bands are just filler and will have no 'wow factor' anyway.

A fair point.
I cannot begin to understand what kind of elaborate marketing strategy is behind all this (assuming there is one).

Does anybody know what percentage of the cabins was sold "last minute" (i.e. in January) on the past cruises?
Perhaps that could give a clue why UMC are dragging out the announcements.

[meshuggah]

I think it's just a sick game he plays.

[RootOfAllEvil]

I think it's just a sick game he plays.

Considering the monetary size (risk) of the whole event, that would really make him badass.

[cowboy71]

Does anybody know what percentage of the cabins was sold "last minute" (i.e. in January) on the past cruises?

Around this stage (ie. 2 and a bit weeks from sailing) last year there were only 3 categories left, representing a maximum of 272 cabins (obviously it would have been a LOT less actually available, but there is no way of us knowing that data).

So I would say it was only a handful of cabins that sold in the final few weeks.

CURRENTLY, there are a heap of categories available that represent over 600 cabins. But UMC claimed in their latest newsletter there is actually only 50 cabins left.

[deathmetalpat]

Don't think selling cabins is a priority now ,only a few people could book this late and why waste big names when he will need them next year.Part of the reason for not announcing bands is that he could decide to get cheaper bands than withdraw offers or delay a band for a later cruise.This year he came out with two big bands Blind Guardian and Therion because he needed to sell 50% more cabins.That and the new ship got what he needed to fill up ,now the big currency move by the dollar have made next years cruise a lot more expensive for non-US customers.Saving talent for next year ,it is an on going business.Put all the great bands or most wanted one year ,you screwed yourself for the next year .

[Azazel101]

I think it's just a sick game he plays.

I have been saying that for years.
He is the Master of Puppets

[broegaard]

...and the lack of annoucements is for the smaller bands.

People will not have time to listen to them, reducing the likelihood of "big" crowds attenting their shows...

I will start my travel on the 9th.( A stop and go in Cleveland to attend Insomnium+DT, a week in Orlando and couple of days in Ft. Lauderdale). I will not have the time to research really small bands!!!

[Madkill]

... looking forward to Andy's "I promise quicker bands announcements next time" traditional speech on the last night.

[FrenchMachoBoy]

... looking forward to Andy's "I promise quicker bands announcements next time" traditional speech on the last night.

Yup. Unfortunately it will be, and next year anouncements might be even worse. I predict he will anounce amon amarth & sabaton for the first anouncements => people will book like crazies => nothing will happen during 4 monthes after, people will start bitching but will still go in 2017...

[Phoenix]

Yup. Unfortunately it will be, and next year anouncements might be even worse. I predict he will anounce amon amarth & sabaton for the first anouncements => people will book like crazies => nothing will happen during 4 monthes after, people will start bitching but will still go in 2017...

Sure, but I'll be honest, without having gone before the only reason I'd go again at this point IS for Sabaton. Will that change after being on a boat with you lot for 5 days, probably, but they are the only band I really truly wanted that I'm not getting this year. Well, them and Scar Symmetry/CoB, but there's still 20- some bands to go...

[FrenchMachoBoy]

Sure, but I'll be honest, without having gone before the only reason I'd go again at this point IS for Sabaton.

Of course, and you're not the only one, so Andy will anounce them and/or Amon Amarth in the 1st wave for 2016... So the same story will go on again and again all the future years :

1° wave of anouncements including big trendy name(s) (amon amarth, amaranthe, children of bodom, sabaton, delain...)
2° people booking, include those who were bitching previous year
3° communication on facebook looping between 3 messages : "have you seen our new banner - send us your picture wearing your shirt - send us your picture with andy"
4° small anouncements
5° no more anouncements during ~3monthes, people bitching
6 - 10 - loop with "no anouncements" and bitching increase each loop, but FB communication goes on
11° no more communication on FB
12° the 2 last monthes, the last anouncements are here
13° the day before the start, the very last anouncements (never less than 2 never more than 5) are here
14° the cruise is ... full and starts
15° go to the start and you didn't win $20 000.

That's just andy's economical model, based on "bitches always come back".

[cowboy71]

.... I predict he will anounce amon amarth & sabaton for the first anouncements => people will book like crazies => nothing will happen during 4 monthes after, people will start bitching but will still go in 2017...

I hope you're right :) Seen both bands multiple times and while they would both be 2-setters, they are definitely not bands I would book for.

[Pellaz]

Whoo-hoo, really glad to see Melechesh was added -- they've been on my (short) wish-list since the beginning!

Things we won't see:

• On-board credit for each person/stateroom (but...we can dream)
• Drink package offered (Royal Caribbean wants your alcohol revenue!)
• Bands-remaining < num-days-remaining

Gotta say, those RC drink package prices posted earlier looked surprisingly good. Carnival's is $70 or so per day, for fifteen drinks.

[Warphine]

My wife recalled an interview with Andy from a few months ago where Andy said that he has all (or at least most) of the bands already booked. He also said that he doesn't announce them all because he loves dragging it out and the "suspense" of it all.

I'm sure he also enjoys all the people that bitch about the lack of announcements as well. As far as I'm concerned, that's a crazy ass strategy but he can do it because we all book as soon as possible each year.

[Dundee]

but he can do it because we all book as soon as possible each year.

No, not ALL of us.

[Warphine]

but he can do it because we all book as soon as possible each year.

No, not ALL of us.

Yes, not all of us, but enough of us do.

[deathmetalpat]

but he can do it because we all book as soon as possible each year.

No, not ALL of us.

Yes, not all of us, but enough of us do.

If the trends continue next year should be very interesting as far as the early booking goes.The same old song and dance from Andy might turn off some people.Especially if mostly filler is announced for the rest of this year's line up nd many of the bigger bands fail to be confirmed.The non US dollar payers also have to consider the huge price increases that have occurred (even if the prices are the same as this year ),Australian,Norwegian,Mexican,Swedish ,Canadian and Russian (omg!) cruisers are facing a 15%-100% price increase already.Might be better to wait out lineup and better currency valuations.Even the stable Euro and the Swiss Franc (parity!) ,are doing poorly.Interesting if the bands are paid in native currencies ,Andy will have more to spend .(Note;Using currency moves from March 2014 to January 2015 .)

[FrenchMachoBoy]

My wife recalled an interview with Andy from a few months ago where Andy said that he has all (or at least most) of the bands already booked. He also said that he doesn't announce them all because he loves dragging it out and the "suspense" of it all.

I take this sentence from Andy as : "i didn't have personnal problems last year. I was just moking you all".

[FrenchMachoBoy]

My wife recalled an interview with Andy from a few months ago where Andy said that he has all (or at least most) of the bands already booked. He also said that he doesn't announce them all because he loves dragging it out and the "suspense" of it all.

I take this sentence from Andy as : "i didn't have personnal problems last year. I was just moking you all".

The same old song and dance from Andy might turn off some people.

Me and 2 friends will not go there just because of this in 2016.

[meshuggah]

I was just moking you all".

I'm sure Andy was not moking anyone last year. The pool deck is quite public, and we would have all seen the action!

[Skullhammer]

This might be the interview:
http://metal-exposure.com/interviews/in ... -of-metal/
A little bit older than "a few month", but It's the newest interview i was able to find.

He said that he was not available for almost 3 months - so definitely not mocking anyone.
Sadly enough due to personal problems, I was out of the running for three months. The wildest stories were being spread, but let me assure you, it had nothing to do wil alcoholism, drugs or woman problems

[deathmetalpat]

This might be the interview:
http://metal-exposure.com/interviews/in ... -of-metal/
A little bit older than "a few month", but It's the newest interview i was able to find.

He said that he was not available for almost 3 months - so definitely not mocking anyone.
Sadly enough due to personal problems, I was out of the running for three months. The wildest stories were being spread, but let me assure you, it had nothing to do wil alcoholism, drugs or woman problems

By the way:
This sounds interesting
...but there will probably be a present for our veteran cruisers, waiting for them upon their arrival...

[cowboy71]

Well hopefully we will start finding some stuff out starting tomorrow.

Do not think we will hear anything today, it being Sunday in Vancouver. So tomorrow we will be down to under 17 days until sailing.

Time is running out!

[GregoryOfTheNorth]

Safe to say that we will know SOON... Because there is not that much SOON left.