John Waggoner plans to sail the two coastal ships he acquired out of American Queen Voyages' bankruptcy on the Great Lakes, Seatrade Cruise News reported.
John Waggoner
Waggoner said he will revive Victory Cruise Lines, refurbish the 190-passenger ships and sail them in the Great Lakes in the spring of 2025. Waggoner once ran Victory Cruise Lines when it was part of American Queen Voyages.
The Ocean Voyager and Ocean Navigator will once again be known as the Victory I and Victory II, respectively.
The ships will sail between Chicago and Toronto or Montreal or cruise roundtrip from Chicago, Seatrade reported.
Waggoner purchased the ships for less than $1 million each, according to documents from AQV's bankruptcy.
The ships sailed their final Great Lakes season for American Queen Voyages in 2023. American Queen Voyages, which also operated a fleet of river ships, ceased operations a few months later. Its parent company, Hornblower Holdings, submitted a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing soon after.
Waggoner said he would bring on a team of former AQV veterans to relaunch Victory Cruise Lines.