On these fancy cruise ships, there aren’t any children running around. The company is clear that it’s targeting older folks with money.
No Casinos spots on these ships, either.
Viking Holdings, the company behind these cruises, wants to attract smart travelers, especially older ones who like adventure. The CEO, Torstein Hagen, says they’re not trying to please everyone because that usually means they won’t do anything well. They’re focused on their target group.
Viking aimed to be worth $10.4 billion when it went public on the New York Stock Exchange. That would make it the third-biggest cruise company, after Royal Caribbean and Carnival. Viking started trading at $26.15 a share, and by the end of the day, it was up more than 8%, closing at $26.10 per share.
Viking increased its IPO because lots of people wanted to buy shares.
Back in 1997, Viking only had four ships. Now they have 92, mostly river-based ships that sail on big rivers like the Seine in France and the Nile in Egypt. Viking stands out because it focuses more on Europe than the Caribbean, unlike bigger cruise lines.
Viking’s IPO comes at a time when more people are booking cruises again. Royal Caribbean even raised its expectations for 2024.
Viking made $4.71 billion in sales in 2023 but still had a net loss for the year. However, investors are interested because Viking makes more money per passenger than other cruise lines.
People want to know what Viking’s plans are for expansion. Norwegian Cruise Line, for example, ordered eight new ships recently. Some worry that there are too many cruise ships now, but right now, people are excited about cruising again after the pandemic.
Even though prices are higher, cruises are still cheaper than hotel vacations, on average. An analyst named Robin Farley thinks cruises are a better deal than hotels right now because hotel rates have gone up more than cruise prices since 2019.
