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'We Hear You': Hellbound Cruise Organisers Address Punter Concerns About Ticket-Buying

Mary Varvaris

“We’ve listened closely and have made meaningful improvements to ensure a smoother and fairer experience moving forward,” the Hellbound team explained.

Carnival Splendor Ship
Carnival Splendor Ship(Source: Supplied/Choose Your Cruise)

The team behind the Hellbound metal cruise has addressed punter concerns ahead of announcing its second event’s line-up next week.

While the first event hasn’t taken place yet – the inaugural Hellbound cruise is scheduled for this October – punters were understandably concerned about the ticket-buying process for the second iteration, seeing how all tickets sold out in just seven minutes, with pre-sale and general sale allocation snapped up immediately. The inaugural event features an all-Australian line-up including Parkway Drive, Polaris, The Butterfly Effect, Northlane, Make Them Suffer, and many others.

It’s a response that presenters Choose Your Cruise have never witnessed in their years of presenting cruises across the country. So, ahead of announcing the line-up and ticketing details for Hellbound II next week, the team has taken the opportunity to assure punters that they’ve been heard, and this time around, the process is set to be smoother.

In a social media post called “WE HEAR YOU,” the Hellbound cruise team acknowledged the “concerns and disappointment” experienced by metal fans who missed out on tickets for this year’s event.

“We acknowledge the concerns and disappointment experienced by many during the booking process for the inaugural Hellbound 1 cruise,” the statement begins.

“The demand for Hellbound 2026 exceeded all expectations – not just locally, but globally. A music cruise like this has never sold out as quickly anywhere in the world, and this level of demand was/is unprecedented within the Australian cruise industry.”

Organisers explained that while the upcoming 2026 event is “a landmark moment,” it also created challenges that impacted many interested metal fans.

“We take all feedback seriously,” the statement continued, “We’ve listened closely and have made meaningful improvements to ensure a smoother and fairer experience moving forward.”

For the second iteration of Hellbound, pre-sale and general sale ticket allocation will be “clearly defined and reserved.” Organisers added that if the pre-sale allocation for next year’s event sells out on Wednesday (4 February), any remaining reserved cabins will be released when general sale tickets go on sale on Thursday, 5 February.

Pre-sale booking links will be distributed to registered punters in advance of the on-sale time of 11 am AEDT, but the URL will become live when the pre-sale opens, meaning that all pre-sale registrations will have equal access.

The statement concluded, “We are navigating uncharted waters with this historic cruise brand we are building together. Hellbound exists because of its community, and we remain committed to learning, improving, and delivering the best possible experience as we continue to help reshape the Australian music cruise landscape.

Hellbound II will take place from Sunday, 17 to Thursday, 21 January 2027 – aboard the Carnival Splendor. The second edition of the metal event is set to feature a “huge metal line-up,” which will be revealed on Monday, 2 February – register your interest here.