Victory Cruise Lines is owned by John Waggoner, who reacquired the brand and its two ships, Victory I and Victory II, at a court-supervised bankruptcy auction in April 2024. He and his wife Claudette paid roughly $1.9 million for the pair, about $950,500 per vessel, and relaunched operations under the restored Victory Cruise Lines name.
Who John Waggoner Is
Waggoner is a long-standing figure in American river and coastal cruising. He founded the American Queen Steamboat Company, which grew into the dominant operator in domestic overnight cruising before corporate transactions pulled the brand out of his direct control. His 2024 purchase was less a new venture than a homecoming: he had already brought Victory into his portfolio once before, in 2019, through American Queen Steamboat Company.
Today he serves as CEO of the relaunched company. The leadership team around him includes COO David W. Kelly, CAO Christina Hobbs, and CFO Erica Kinsella.
How the Bankruptcy Made the Sale Possible
The ownership change traces to the collapse of the Hornblower Group, which had absorbed Waggoner’s earlier company. On February 20, 2024, American Queen Steamboat Company LLC officially ceased operations. The following day, Hornblower and its affiliates filed voluntary petitions for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.
The filing swept in a long list of subsidiaries, including Victory Operating Company, LLC, American Queen Holdco, LLC, and American Queen Steamboat Operating Company, LLC. The court oversaw the sale of the company’s assets in stages. American Cruise Lines, a competitor, won the bidding for four riverboats: the American Duchess, American Empress, American Queen, and American Countess. The two smaller coastal ships were sold separately to Waggoner’s group in April 2024.
Because the sale ran through the bankruptcy court, the ships came out of the process clear of prior debts and liens. That gave Waggoner clean title and allowed him to resume operations under a new corporate entity.
Why Waggoner Is Buying It Back
The simplest way to understand the current ownership is to trace the two steps that put the brand in Waggoner’s hands twice.
In 2019, Waggoner’s American Queen Steamboat Company acquired Victory Cruise Lines and its two ships, expanding his river-cruise business into coastal and Great Lakes itineraries. Two years later, in 2021, the Hornblower Group acquired Waggoner’s company and rebranded the combined operation as American Queen Voyages. During the Hornblower period, the Victory ships were briefly renamed Ocean Voyager and Ocean Navigator.
When Hornblower went into freefall in early 2024, Waggoner moved to buy back the coastal ships he had originally added to his portfolio five years earlier. Industry observers described the auction price as a remarkable figure for two operational cruise ships. By mid-2024, the vessels had been refurbished, the Victory Cruise Lines name was restored, and the ships were back sailing the Great Lakes.
The Current Operating Entity
Bankruptcy filings reference “American Queen Operating Company, LLC” as the successor operating entity for the Victory brand. That is the company behind the ticket sales and vessel operations today, with Waggoner at the top as CEO.
Because Victory’s ships carry more than 50 passengers and depart from U.S. ports, the operating entity also has to carry federal passenger-protection coverage. Federal law prohibits anyone from advertising or selling cruise transportation in the United States without first filing evidence of financial responsibility with the Federal Maritime Commission. In practice, Victory’s operator holds both a Performance Certificate, which covers passenger refunds if a voyage is not delivered as promised, and a Casualty Certificate. The FMC currently caps Performance Certificate coverage at $32 million, and companies can meet the requirement through insurance, a surety bond, guarantees, or an escrow account. If a passenger has a refund claim the cruise line denies or fails to resolve within 180 days, the passenger can file directly with the FMC’s Bureau of Certification and Licensing.
One point worth flagging for anyone comparing cruise brands: Victory Cruise Lines and American Cruise Lines are separate companies with separate owners. American Cruise Lines bought the four American Queen riverboats out of the same 2024 bankruptcy, but it did not acquire Victory. The Victory brand and its two coastal ships went to Waggoner.
Ownership at a Glance
- Owner: John Waggoner (with Claudette Waggoner), who acquired the brand and vessels at auction in April 2024.
- Purchase price: approximately $1.9 million for both ships.
- Operating entity referenced in bankruptcy filings: American Queen Operating Company, LLC.
- CEO: John Waggoner. COO: David W. Kelly. CAO: Christina Hobbs. CFO: Erica Kinsella.
- Ships owned: Victory I (built 2001) and Victory II (built 2004), both refurbished in 2024.
So the short answer, and the longer one, land in the same place. Victory Cruise Lines is privately held by John Waggoner, the same operator who first brought the brand into American Queen Steamboat Company in 2019, lost it through Hornblower’s acquisition and bankruptcy, and bought it back when the court sold the ships off in 2024.