Viking Cruises’ unique ship designs, being small and almost identical, set the company apart and serve as an important value driver, according to Torstein Hagen, CEO of Viking, speaking on the company’s fourth quarter and full year 2024 earnings conference call.
Hagen said that from a marketing and sales perspective, all ships within each product are almost identical, and this simplifies the sales and marketing process as guests choose itineraries rather than specific ships or the ship’s age.
“This strategy also allows us to generate higher and more consistent yields across the entire fleet, regardless of ship age,” he added.
Regarding deployment operations, he said that Viking’s long booking window allows it to position its fleet strategically to meet guest demand.
“Since our ships are almost identical, we can optimize revenue and net yield by allocating them where demand is highest,” Hagen said.
He added that the fleet’s design additionally streamlines operation onboard. Crew move across ships with minimal retraining, and maintenance and repairs are more efficient. From a nautical perspective, the river longship design can reduce disruptions as ships can be swapped out.
“We also gain efficiencies in shipbuilding. By designing almost identical ships, we can streamline the shipbuilding process. Also, our ship construction timeline is accelerated due to a reduced design phase,” Hagen said.
“Another benefit of our fleet is its age. We have one of the youngest fleets in the industry, which offers a significant advantage,” he said.
According to Hagen, the fleet’s age allows for more efficient design and operations, technological advancements, lower fuel consumption and lower capital expenditures, which can instead be redirected to fleet expansion or new product offerings.
(The designs) result in no wasted space or extra weight onboard and maximized guest comfort. This is seen with the river longships, Hagen said.
“The square bow (on the European river ships) allows more usable space. The same is the case with three full decks, which enable us to accommodate more guests and therefore improve the profitability of the ships. Most other vessels feature only two decks,” he added.
