by Sarah Kuta
Last updated: 3:00 PM ET, Wed May 15, 2024
Next year, a familiar cruise line and its two vessels will be returning to the Great Lakes: Victory I and Victory II, under the revived Victory Cruise Lines brand, reports Seatrade Cruise News.
Most recently, the 190-passenger sister ships were named Ocean Navigator and Ocean Voyager. They belonged to American Queen Voyages, which stopped operating in February. Soon after, its parent company, Hornblower Group, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
In April, American Queen Voyages ships headed to auction, where American Cruise Lines snapped up four vessels, plus the shuttered companys intellectual property.
At the same time, John Waggoner purchased Ocean Navigator and Ocean Voyager at auction for roughly $2 million.
Waggoner has a long history with the two vessels. In 1994, he founded Hornblower Marine Services. The company later evolved to become HMS Global Maritime as he added additional business units, including Seaward Services, HMS Ferries, American Queen Steamboat Co. and Victory Cruise Lines. American Queen Steamboat Co. and Victory Cruise Lines later merged to become American Queen Voyages.
Waggoner initially purchased Victory I and Victory II in 2018 for $55 million, per Seatrade Cruise News. He told the publication hes decided to come out of retirement and relaunch Victory Cruise Lines because he got an unbelievable deal on the ships and he missed the business cruising on the Great Lakes, in particular.?
Next spring, when Victory I and Victory II are slated to return to the Great Lakes, they will offer 10- to 12-day voyages across all five lakes. Both ships are undergoing refurbishments in Maine.
Victory Cruise Lines will once again be based in New Albany, Indiana.
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