River cruise veteran John Waggoner on the Victory revival

Travel Weekly

05-05-2025

John Waggoner abruptly exited retirement last year to revive Victory Cruise Lines, purchasing its two former ships from the bankruptcy of American Queen Voyages, the line he'd founded. Cruise editor Teri West spoke with Waggoner days before the naming of the Victory I about the brand's revival and what the future might hold.
John Waggoner
Q: What has the journey been like to reach this moment?
A: We didn't have much time to think about this because the boats came up for auction, and there was only 30 days that you had to get your letter of interest in, get your deposit in, go to the auction, close, do a cash closing and then you have two boats. And you go, "All right, well, now we need to set up a whole company and do a bunch of repairs and set up a sales and marketing team, set up a reservation center, set up office space, hire all the crew." And we've done all that in just over a year, like 380 days.
Q: I'd imagine that a lot of it was just pure adrenaline.
A: I think more terror, but yeah. But I would say fear is a good motivating factor sometimes.
Q: What do you think makes the Great Lakes a good cruise destination?
A: One couple has been on 60 different cruises, and their reason to take this cruise is, "We don't have to fly overseas. We don't have to take a six- or eight- or 10- or 12-hour flight. You're right here. We get to stay close by for medical care and everything else, and we get to learn more about our country."
Q: Are there other locations that these ships are headed?
A: We just need to hit a home run our first year, so we need to focus just on the Great Lakes. But for 2026, I think we'll add some Eastern Seaboard cruises, maybe a Bahamas trip and maybe winding up in New Orleans. We're working on those itineraries now, but they won't be until the end of 2026.
Q: American Cruise Lines bought four of American Queen Voyages' vessels, then scrapped a couple of them. I'm curious how you felt about that.
A: I put my heart and soul into American Queen, and anytime you put your heart and soul into something you see get destroyed, you have to say, "Geez, that just doesn't feel good at all."
Q: How will the experience on these vessels differ under the new ownership?
A: One guest just said, "John, after you left, the spark went out. The flame went out. You could see it in the employees. So service wasn't as good, food wasn't as good, entertainment wasn't as good, because a lot of the really good people left. But now that you're back, oh, my God, there is more heart and soul. Everybody is so friendly, the food is excellent, the entertainment is excellent, the short trips that you put together." And I think that's a difference between an owner that's been in the maritime business for 50 years and the fact that you bring the whole team together that's an experienced team.
Q: How are you feeling about, not just what folks onboard are saying but about sales, bookings and where business is headed?
A: We were at about 70% of our revenue target before we even ran our first trip, which is remarkable. I would say I'm like every other cruise operator in the last three or four weeks. As an investor, watching my 401(k) go down is concerning, but I think we'll all get through that.