[PotatoPotahto]

Every year I've been here, "Prepare your wishlist!" Is how the megathread starts (or is nesr the start). Every year, our wishlist thread is already here.

Well in that case, now I'm not expecting announcements until October. With the payment plan cutoff being Oct 24, maybe their plan for new blood is offering an incredibly short payment plan period, or maybe only offering gold sailors a payment plan?

[Godflesh]

[Godflesh]

...I hope.

[Godflesh]

Whatever is happening, it was known well in advance, because no megathread was opened.

Dates of Andy's megathreads:
BTH: 7/7/12 "The BARGE TO HELL Is Coming!"
2011: 2/17/10 "11 OUT OF 40 BANDS CONFIRMED!" (post made by Allison not Andy)
2012: 4/18/11 "Please welcome the first 7 out of 40"
2013: 6/27/12 "The Wait Is Over! Welcome The First 10 Bands Onbroad!"
2014: 3/4/13 "70000TONS OF METAL 2014 Is On The Horizon!"
2015: 2/14/14 "...Are You Getting Excited Yet?"
2016: 2/27/15 " Are you getting ready...?"
2017: 5/20/16 "Are You Ready For Round 7?"
2018: 4/12/17 "Sailors! Prepare Your Wishlists For 70000TONS OF METAL 2"
2019: SOON

(Edit: Added original thread titles)

And of course there’s the mystery of the Day 3 and 4 recap videos that were never posted after Day 2 in April (another first), which happens to be when the boat renovations ended.
I hope it’s not a “Can’t we just feed them sandwiches?” Fyre festival kind of situation...

[Ti7aNiC]

Guys... you are over-thinking the booking process and potential for change pretty damn hard. Why would UMC want to invest in a database that keeps expanding with various tiers of loyalty for early bookings, discounts, etc.? Do you understand the logistical nightmare your concocting with those booking processes? The management of all that would be such a waste of time and Andy doesn't seem like the kind of person who wants to deal with that...

All UMC should really have is Gold survivors with early bookings, maybe a reserved pool of cabins in each tier for it, and a % of 70Ks sailed to qualify so that it grows every year and gets harder and harder to qualify for. And I really emphasize *should* here - I don't think they need to do anything; they could just have a single public sale date and be done with it (10% Gold discount on cabin price would be enough). Name any other metal festival that rewards return-customers like 70K already does.

Also, with the budget of this festival (and considering the fact that they keep selling out), they could very easily upgrade their IT infrastructure (or contract it out) so that the flood of bookings doesn't crash the site. Source: I'm an IT manager. Andy, if you're reading this and looking for IT support, I'll gladly help

[Amalu]

Though it also weeds out those who have never gone, who don't hear news and decide to book Wacken instead because Demons and Wizards got announced.

Why not do both? WOA and 70k do not collide in terms of dates. I have ordered my tickets for WOA yesterday and still am planing on boarding the ship if possible.

[DragonLordJones]

I'm so tired of this we know the port - we know the dates - we even know the ship ….. but we don't know one fucking band. WTF …… this is starting to piss me off. This has to be the least excited I have been on any of the cruises (and I have done them all)

[Godflesh]

I'm so tired of this we know the port - we know the dates - we even know the ship ….. but we don't know one fucking band. WTF …… this is starting to piss me off. This has to be the least excited I have been on any of the cruises (and I have done them all)

As say we all... Would JUDAS PRIEST being announced placate you (I genuinely would like to know, since I have this fantasy in my head)?

[cowboy71]

Stolen shamelessly from Facebook:

[DragonLordJones]

I'm so tired of this we know the port - we know the dates - we even know the ship ….. but we don't know one fucking band. WTF …… this is starting to piss me off. This has to be the least excited I have been on any of the cruises (and I have done them all)

As say we all... Would JUDAS PRIEST being announced placate you (I genuinely would like to know, since I have this fantasy in my head)?

I have a Slayer thing going (they did do Motorboat) but not holding my breathe - Priest would be happy surprise, I would think these bands more for the 10 year cruise on a bigger ship ..... just not understanding this year

[Godflesh]

I'm so tired of this we know the port - we know the dates - we even know the ship ….. but we don't know one fucking band. WTF …… this is starting to piss me off. This has to be the least excited I have been on any of the cruises (and I have done them all)

As say we all... Would JUDAS PRIEST being announced placate you (I genuinely would like to know, since I have this fantasy in my head)?

I have a Slayer thing going (they did do Motorboat) but not holding my breathe - Priest would be happy surprise, I would think these bands more for the 10 year cruise on a bigger ship ..... just not understanding this year

Hmm, Slayer will be headlining HellFest in June.
Tom hates touring now, but I could see him loving a paid vacation with his entire family, which has been his gripe with touring (away from family).
So perhaps Slayer is the big 2019 surprise, instead of Judas. Or both

[Godflesh]

Hmm, Slayer will be headlining HellFest in June.
Tom hates touring now, but I could see him loving a paid vacation with his entire family, which has been his gripe with touring (away from family).
So perhaps Slayer is the big 2019 surprise, instead of Judas. Or both

By that same flawed logic: MANOWAR will also play HellFest, and their tour only starts in March, so perhaps Andy has managed to book all 3 of them as headliners, and since then he’s been floating in his swimming pool snorting cocaine while giving us both fingers and laughing manically.
That would explain everything, even the missing videos and logo update
Alright, now that I’ve set expectations, my job here is done

[Phoenix]

Why not do both? WOA and 70k do not collide in terms of dates. I have ordered my tickets for WOA yesterday and still am planing on boarding the ship if possible.

Because it's expensive? A lot of the people I know that do 70k can barely afford the cruise, let alone a trip overseas.

[Pellaz]

Why not do both? WOA and 70k do not collide in terms of dates. I have ordered my tickets for WOA yesterday and still am planing on boarding the ship if possible.

Because it's expensive? A lot of the people I know that do 70k can barely afford the cruise, let alone a trip overseas.

Even aside from the expense, some people can't get that much time off work. Most of us aren't trustafarian* kids.... Fyre Festival this ain't. Yet, anyway.


---
* "trustafarian" -- living well off Mom and Dad's trust fund, with no need to be employed

[Amalu]

Because it's expensive? A lot of the people I know that do 70k can barely afford the cruise, let alone a trip overseas.

Yeah right, I get you. I had a bit to much of a European perspective on this. As I can easily drive to Wacken in a couple of hours for under 100$ it is not to expensive.

The cruise on the other hand with an intercontinental flight will be a lot more expansive.

So for us over here, if you manage to finance 70k, you will most certainly also be able to squeeze in Wacken.

Even aside from the expense, some people can't get that much time off work.

Again, sorry. To much of a narrow minded European perspective. I need to take 4 weeks paid vacation by law. I did not for this year and got an angry mail form HR a few days ago.

* "trustafarian" -- living well off Mom and Dad's trust fund, with no need to be employed

Got to remember that one.

[Bob]

...Again, sorry. To much of a narrow minded European perspective. I need to take 4 weeks paid vacation by law. I did not for this year and got an angry mail form HR a few days ago.

Gawd damnit! Takes me 20 years seniority to get the 4 weeks of vacation benefit.

[JoAnnamayhem]

...Again, sorry. To much of a narrow minded European perspective. I need to take 4 weeks paid vacation by law. I did not for this year and got an angry mail form HR a few days ago.

[Pellaz]

Even aside from the expense, some people can't get that much time off work.

Again, sorry. To much of a narrow minded European perspective. I need to take 4 weeks paid vacation by law. I did not for this year and got an angry mail form HR a few days ago.

I don't have to take mine "by law," but I forfeit any accrued vacation time over 240 hours at the end of the year if I don't take it or donate it. (I get c. 26 days per year.) The email I'd get would be more "haha, you lose" than angry.

[cowboy71]

...Again, sorry. To much of a narrow minded European perspective. I need to take 4 weeks paid vacation by law. I did not for this year and got an angry mail form HR a few days ago.

Gawd damnit! Takes me 20 years seniority to get the 4 weeks of vacation benefit.

Man that sucks.

We get 4 weeks here - we don't have the kind of 'use it or lose it' situation like Amalu, although most places in Australia will politely advise you to take leave if you have massive amounts accrued (maybe a little of the 'hey give yourself a break and take some time off', but also because its a liability to the company to have a large amount of leave accrued).

Previous job I had pretty much closed down over xmas period so I always had to use the bulk of my leave at that time. Often leaving just enough for me to take time off for 70K, or leaving me with a slightly negative leave balance.

Thankfully my new employer isn't like that so I can take leave whenever I want it which is great! I tend to prefer working over the xmas period as the office is much quieter :)

[Memnoch]

Thankfully my new employer isn't like that so I can take leave whenever I want it which is great! I tend to prefer working over the xmas period as the office is much quieter :)

I like to work during the summer, because most people are on their vacation. That's why I still have four weeks of summer vacation left (plus a week of winter vacation for the first quarter of 2019). Should probably use it at some point.

[Godflesh]

You thought we were done? Of course not! Here's one more for good measure!

The EXODUS of metalheads from across the globe to South Florida is well on its way! Round 8 of 70000TONS OF METAL, The Original, The World's Biggest Heavy Metal Cruise is about to begin. Can you feel the excitement?

We've got 61 bands onbroad for your ultimate Heavy Metal Vacation where you will spend 5 days and 4 nights forgetting about the mundane real world. 70000TONS OF METAL is where your headbanger dreams come true! See all of you Sailors on February 1st, 2018 for embarkation!

“And this, little Timmy, is what we used to call a “ band announcement”, back in your grandfather’s days.
Notice how it was made just 2 days before embarkation, that’s a beautiful specimen.
And this 2018 logo, ah, it hasn’t changed in all these years.
Those were the days!
Alright, off to bed now, tomorrow I’ll tell you how all this was replaced by the “Disturbed:Oh wah-ah-ah boat” cruise...”

[Pellaz]

LOL


"Sailors! What's that big red "S" floating in the waters before our becalmed boat? Could it mean "SOOOOOOOOON"??"

[cowboy71]

Some stats from the Statsman.

163 days to go. At this stage, in the pages of history:

2018 Cruise - In the middle of a two month band announcement drought, but with 21 bands already announced
2017 Cruise - At the start of a four month band announcement drought, 39 bands already announced
2016 Cruise - In a two month band announcement drought, 31 bands already announced
2015 Cruise - 27 bands announced (NOT in band announcement drought - that year it occurred Oct/Nov)
2014 Cruise - In the middle of a five month band announcement drought, 13 bands announced
2013 Cruise - In the middle of a two month band announcement drought, 15 bands announced

[Godflesh]

Some stats from the Statsman.

163 days to go. At this stage, in the pages of history:

2018 Cruise - In the middle of a two month band announcement drought, but with 21 bands already announced
2017 Cruise - At the start of a four month band announcement drought, 39 bands already announced
2016 Cruise - In a two month band announcement drought, 31 bands already announced
2015 Cruise - 27 bands announced (NOT in band announcement drought - that year it occurred Oct/Nov)
2014 Cruise - In the middle of a five month band announcement drought, 13 bands announced
2013 Cruise - In the middle of a two month band announcement drought, 15 bands announced

What still baffles me is the financial side. All those droughts happened with money sitting in UMC’s bank account (for people who paid in full early), this year they have zero.
Shitrocked was smart enough to accomplish both.
Could it simply be that in the current economy, the discount for paying in full early is just not worth it anymore?
Do we have an economist here who could chime in?

[cowboy71]

It would be a very complicated formula indeed to quantify this in anything remotely resembling an accurate fashion, with all the different discounts etc.

Interest rates generally quite low at the moment. So the 5% discount offered to people that pay in full up front would probably be just enough to be at least not a huge financial burden on UMC.

However I would imagine that in years past the cash flow they received from early bookings would then be used to finance all the other things related to the cruise - promotion, wages, up front costs relating to the ship or bands etc.

[cowboy71]

It is 84 days since 70k first said they "will be releasing more information on ticket sales as well as the initial Artist lineup SOON".

84 days.

In that amount of time I could have watched every episode of MASH 6 times.

In that amount of time you could listen to every song the Beatles recorded 200 times.

Civilizations have risen and fallen in that amount of time

[cegr80]

WHEN shall we witness the death of this thread?

[Godflesh]

It's interesting that this thread, despite being on artificial life support for waaay too long, only has 281227 views, while the 2017 official thread (whose last post was made on 2/24/2017) had 417920, 50% more.

[Pellaz]

It is 84 days since 70k first said they "will be releasing more information on ticket sales as well as the initial Artist lineup SOON".

84 days.

In that amount of time I could have watched every episode of MASH 6 times.

In that amount of time you could listen to every song the Beatles recorded 200 times.

Civilizations have risen and fallen in that amount of time

Yep. Roman Emperors have been crowned and deposed in less time.

WHEN shall we witness the death of this thread?

"When" is the title of an awesome Opeth song! IS THIS A CLUE?!?!?!?!?!1111

[Godflesh]

It is 84 days since 70k first said they "will be releasing more information on ticket sales as well as the initial Artist lineup SOON".

84 days.

In that amount of time I could have watched every episode of MASH 6 times.

In that amount of time you could listen to every song the Beatles recorded 200 times.

Civilizations have risen and fallen in that amount of time

They owned you good on the MASH reference, gotta give them that

They also had a nice defense on “prove you’re not a robot”. They’re good.

[cowboy71]

hahaha - yeah that MASH one was gold