Following the Viking Fleet

Late last month I traveled for the third year in a row to Viking Cruises' christening event for its newest ships in Europe. This time the event was held in Avignon, France, where we christened a record total of seven Viking Longships at once, three of which were in Avignon, four of which were still in the shipyard in Rostock, Germany.

Of course, these were only part of an entire week of christenings, which also included nine new Longship named in Amsterdam and two new ships christened in Porto on the Douro river. If you're keeping score, that's a total of 18 new ships in one week.

Now some people I talk with don't quite believe Viking christened so many ships at once. Then I tell them I went to the company's christening event in Amsterdam two years ago, where four Viking Longships were named, followed by the christening event in the same city a year ago where 10 ships made their debut.

In total, Viking has built 30 new Longships in three years, plus the two new ships it has on the Douro. That gives Viking a fleet of 52 vessels today, though even some of the company's executives aren't always quite sure of the number of ships in their fleet.

PHOTO: Viking Cruises christened 18 ships last month, including 16 new, patented Longships! (Courtesy of Viking Cruises)

Many think it's crazy to build so many river ships so quickly, but these folks just don't know Tor Hagen, Viking's irrepressible and brash chairman and CEO. Hagen is quite literally on a mission to dominate the European river cruise market — and he's getting ready to target oceangoing cruising as well with the launch in May 2015 of Viking Star, a 928-passenger ship offering high-premium accommodations and a destination focus.

Indeed, as Hagen observed in a press conference onboard one of the new Viking Longships, Viking has grown 31 percent from 2001 to 2014, and expects to carry 254,000 passengers this year alone. In comparison, Hagen said, other river cruise lines have grown 11 percent collectively over the same period of time.

In 2015, Hagen forecasted, there will be a total of 512,000 passengers in European river cruising. He says Viking will have 50 percent of market, followed by Uniworld Boutique River Cruises with 11 percent, Avalon with 9 percent, AmaWaterways with 8 percent, Grand Circle with 6 percent, Tauck with 4 percent and Vantage with 3 percent, with others making up the remaining 9 percent.

Hagen also is quick to take his "fair share of credit for developing" the river cruise market. In fact, he said his company has spent close to $400 million in advertising and marketing to promote river cruising, while his competitors, he says, have spent only a fraction of that.

As always, Hagen played the provocateur during his talk to the press. "Ocean cruising is a bit of a boring business," he told us, "and river cruising is very good." That's despite the fact that Hagen is about to embark on his own oceangoing cruise venture next year!

PHOTO: Tor Hagen speaking at the christening of seven new Viking Longships in Avignon, France. (Photo by James Shillinglaw)

In the meantime, Hagen is touting the efficiency and design of his patented Viking Longships, pointing to them as one of the reasons for his company's success in recent years. These Longships carry 190 passengers compared with roughly 160 of some other major river cruise lines. They have 48 cabins, most with full balconies, and have three full decks. An asymmetrical corridor design maximizes cabin space, as does a square bow, which also allows each ship to have an Aquavit outdoor dining terrace for passengers.

It all adds up to a set of new ships that give Viking operating efficiencies that allow it to undercut the market in pricing, according to Hagen. Add to that the market awareness that Viking has created and you have Viking's formula for success. Indeed, Hagen gave statistics which showed Viking had 76 percent consumer awareness, compared with 18 percent for Grand Circle, 15 percent for Vantage and Tauck, 11 percent for Avalon and 7 percent for AmaWaterways.

Now I can't verify those figures through an independent source, but just anecdotally I can't tell you how many people have told me they've heard of Viking compared to others in the market. That's largely due, of course, to Viking's sponsorship of "Downton Abbey" on PBS Masterpiece Theater, as well as extensive advertising on such programs as the CBS Morning News and CBS Sunday Morning. I even saw those same TV ads broadcast on CNN's airport channel on my way to the Viking christening event.

Viking has also benefited from high consumer satisfaction with its product. Hagen told us that 96.4 percent of passengers rated Viking as far above expectations or above expectations across its entire fleet. The line also has won a number of consumer magazine awards, such as Travel + Leisure's Best River Cruise for 2012-2013, Conde Nast Traveler's Gold List for Cruise Lines (2013), and Cruise Critic's Editors Pick: Best River Cruise Line for 2013. 

For Viking, of course, there is much more to come. Hagen told us that by 2015 the company will have 63 ships, including 10 more Longships for a total of 40. The line also will launch two more slightly smaller (106 passenger) river vessels on the Elbe River, which requires a different, somewhat shorter design and a shallower draft.

Beyond Europe, Viking is debuting a new vessel in Myanmar later this year. It also is sticking to its plan to launch a new river ship on the Mississippi by the end of 2016, despite those critics who say there are too many obstacles, including a requirement for a U.S. ship builder and U.S. crew, for Viking to succeed.

But all that seems to come with the territory for the 71-year-old Tor Hagen. He started his company back in 1994 with four Russian river cruise ships before purchasing KD River Lines. And some say he was close to bankruptcy during the recession, but managed to find investors to realize his vision of a river cruise empire in Europe and beyond. That vision has certainly become a reality over the past three years.

Now Hagen is about to embark on his oceangoing venture with one ship set to debut in May 2015 and three more planned. Hagen was asked during the press event whether there's anything he feared in business. "I have no fear," he answered, "as long as you have enough cash on the books to ride a year or two. There are three things that make a great company: you need to be loved by your customers, loved by your employees, and hated by your competitors."

That's Tor Hagen for you! Brash, boastful, resolute and decisive — and so far he's also been right!