Viking IPO

[OnTheJourney]

1 hour ago, Cienfuegos said:

Barron's magazine has a discussion of the Viking IPO in today's magazine.

I just started reading the 270-page prospectus. Much like the (many) brochures they send out, it's very well done. My advisor indicated he has no idea how many shares he'd actually be able to get as an IPO. If not, can always get shares on the secondary market.

[CCWineLover]

Personally, I'd wait to see how the market reacts to the IPO.  There might well be an opportunity to get a bargain if prices plummet a bit after the offering, which seems to happen to a lot of non-tech offerings.

[CCWineLover]

13 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

This is one reason I enjoy river cruising. It’s less about the ship and more about the destinations and view. Not a fan of sea days unless they involve scenic cruising like the Chilean fjords.

Joe - we agree on a lot but on this sadly we don't.  We will not do river cruising simply due to 1) the dining situation and 2) the inability to find a quiet place to get away from it all   Like you can on Ocean Ships.  To us that is more important than the need to see places easily, which we like better on river than ocean.  Of course, DW has hearing issues that make the mass eating a disaster for her, so I'm probably biased.  We so enjoy the World Cafe and CT and other places on Viking Ocean where those who don't want a mass loud eating experience can dine in a little peace.

It's sad, because we'd really like to go on more river cruises but it won't happen.

Edited April 28 by CCWineLover

[OnTheJourney]

14 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

which seems to happen to a lot of non-tech offerings.

they could also pop at the opening. Crap-shoot. Point well taken. As I mentioned, my advisor isn't even sure he'd be able to get any.

 

 

[OnTheJourney]

14 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

Not a fan of sea days unless they involve scenic cruising like the Chilean fjords.

LOL...you can be glad you weren't on our northbound Mississippi sailing! Once it was determined that we had to run straight through from Alton, IL to St. Paul, MN, eliminating all previously planned stops and excursions, we wound up with about 9 consecutive sea days. A highlight became talking to local citizens who gathered at the locks to watch us pass through. Some nice conversation. That was our only contact with outside civilization! So it was lazy days on the river, but actually quite enjoyable. Never got to read so much on a cruise. The other highlight, of course, was checking out what's for breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day. In all fairness, though, Viking came up with some really interesting lectures to help fill the afternoons.

Edited April 28 by OnTheJourney

[OnTheJourney]

14 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

We will not do river cruising simply due to 1) the dining situation

While we loved our only river cruise (not including Viking's MS), we didn't care for that you always wound up eating around the larger tables. We did eventually get friendly with a couple - who also liked to eat early dinner - and so the 4 of us did that for the latter part of the cruise and got along well.  What made the group eating (mostly at dinner) a bit unbearable was that some of the conversation starters were so obviously geared to impressing others around the table as to where all people have been in their travels. I really don't care. Some woman actually had the gaucheness to ask my wife how much her teaching salary is! Don't recall how we fielded that one but got a chuckle out of it later. But that's cruising. Boarded the Viking Mississippi and started talking to another couple over the welcome glass of champagne. As part of general travel-related conversation, I simply said "yeah, there are always more places to go". Expecting a simple endorsement or acknowledgment, instead the guy goes, "well, we've pretty much been all over! What's left to see probably isn't worth it!". Uh-huh. All except here on the Mississippi perhaps (?) At that point I was ready to end the conversation, but he wasn't. And thus ensued a lengthy list of their extended past travel itineraries. Cut me some slack since I really don't care. Actually wound up having some nice conversation with them later on during the cruise. Quite interesting and nice people, but just off to a bit of a weird start.

Edited April 28 by OnTheJourney

[Cienfuegos]

Having a ready reply to those intrusive questions is always useful.  The questioner has usually just said something about 80 cruises, seven continents, and the like.

 

 

[OnTheJourney]

10 hours ago, Cienfuegos said:

The questioner has usually just said something about 80 cruises, seven continents, and the like.

LOL yeah exactly! Definitely all 7 continents for sure is likely to come up, which always strikes me sort of funny in regards to that being a milestone travel goal, which in some ways it surely is - one I'll probably not be able to make a claim to - and yet when you think about it - if you only visit one or two destinations on each continent, you've only seen such a very small part of what's available. It'd be like someone coming all the way from Asia and visiting only NYC and Boston, for example, and then saying they've been to North America. Well, yeah, true enough, but only barely scratching the surface. Still, a cool accomplishment worthy of those types of 'bring and brag' conversations. When you think about it, one only need make a total of 6 trips to see all the other continents not including the one you live on! It's just that considerable distance is involved for many of them.

 

80 cruises, though, is really not that big a deal around CC the way it seems. I suspect many have done way more.

Edited April 29 by OnTheJourney

[Jim Avery]

Right you are. I have been to many places in a lifetime of traveling plus my seagoing career but there is always someone who has done a bit more. Sort of like no matter how much money you have someone else always has more. Darn the luck.🍸

[Cienfuegos]

1 hour ago, Jim Avery said:

Right you are. I have been to many places in a lifetime of traveling plus my seagoing career but there is always someone who has done a bit more. Sort of like no matter how much money you have someone else always has more. Darn the luck.🍸

 

Experience and understanding are always good cruise memories.  Just ticking items off a list rarely delivers the kind of pleasure the ticker seeks.

[OnTheJourney]

55 minutes ago, Cienfuegos said:

 

Experience and understanding are always good cruise memories.  Just ticking items off a list rarely delivers the kind of pleasure the ticker seeks.

Well stated!  Some of my favorite trips have been those within reasonable driving distance as opposed to farther destinations out of the US.

 

2 hours ago, Jim Avery said:

there is always someone who has done a bit more.

Exactly, or even alot more depending on one's experiences and means. It's all relative. As I mentioned a few years ago, we got talking to guy who worked in a gift shop in Baltimore after finishing a cruise there. He asked questions about the cruise, etc. and it became quickly evident that, for him, the idea of ever being able to go on a cruise was probably a pipe dream at best. So for a guy like that, a weekly vacation at the beach is probably a big deal. I'd rather always have more places, i.e. a "bucket list" of sorts, to look forward to maybe still getting to, than to feel like there are really few or no places left in the world that I haven't already been to. Age / health issues start to play a part for many - DW and myself included. No use trying to deny it, so it's a foregone conclusion the bottom of that list will never be reached. That's just reality. For those who feel they HAVE 'seen it all', kudos!

 

The journey truly is the destination, I think, and not just necessarily pertaining to travel.

Edited April 29 by OnTheJourney

[Twitchly]

4 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

80 cruises, though, is really not that big a deal around CC the way it seems. I suspect many have done way more.

Note to anyone who feels like they’re losing this competition: hang out with us. We’ve taken a total of 3 cruises. You’ll feel great about yourself! 

[OnTheJourney]

1 hour ago, Twitchly said:

We’ve taken a total of 3 cruises. You’ll feel great about yourself! 

I love it! Yes, I'd gladly hang out with both of you. You did Viking ocean if I recall correctly?

[GonzoWCS]

On 4/27/2024 at 7:45 PM, Cienfuegos said:

Barron's magazine has a discussion of the Viking IPO in today's magazine.  In general, veteran financial reporter Andrew Bary likes the offering. He sees the new ships, the loyal customer base, and the focus on older, more affluent, educated, curious travelers as a winning recipe.

Good read.  IPO today

 

Cheers

[May B]

On 4/28/2024 at 12:27 AM, CCWineLover said:

Joe - we agree on a lot but on this sadly we don't.  We will not do river cruising simply due to 1) the dining situation and 2) the inability to find a quiet place to get away from it all   Like you can on Ocean Ships.  To us that is more important than the need to see places easily, which we like better on river than ocean.  Of course, DW has hearing issues that make the mass eating a disaster for her, so I'm probably biased.  We so enjoy the World Cafe and CT and other places on Viking Ocean where those who don't want a mass loud eating experience can dine in a little peace.

It's sad, because we'd really like to go on more river cruises but it won't happen.

I believe on other lines such as AMA, Uniworld, probably Scenic and Tauck, you’re not always required to dine with others. 

[Mike07]

28 minutes ago, May B said:

I believe on other lines such as AMA, Uniworld, probably Scenic and Tauck, you’re not always required to dine with others. 

 

 

Have only been on Viking River ships and my guess is that space is such a premium that they can't do tables for two.

 

Plus, the ship is so small it's much easier to mingle. Though, I can appreciate the challenges of people with hearing difficulties as the dining rooms are not that big

[May B]

1 hour ago, Mike07 said:

 

 

Have only been on Viking River ships and my guess is that space is such a premium that they can't do tables for two.

 

Plus, the ship is so small it's much easier to mingle. Though, I can appreciate the challenges of people with hearing difficulties as the dining rooms are not that big

I’ve never been on Viking River. When I first looked for a river cruise, I chose AMA. Out of seven nights, I believe we ate with one couple, whom we actually liked very much, twice. Once we ate with one other couple and they were fine. Three of the other nights we dined alone. One night we dined at the special restaurant, special menu, all 12 guests, iirc, at the same table. It was a nice experience … private room. We liked the couple we dined with, twice, so much that we saw them once when they were in our neck of the woods with some extra time before their flight home.

 

Did another AMA for the tulip cruise, great fun. I don’t remember dining with anybody! We did a Uniworld with two friends, but actually dined at a table of eight most nights. It was ok, but we generally prefer dining alone, or with our own travel companions. Last night we dined, just the four of us.

 

Heck, I never thought I’d opt to dine at a buffet for dinner, but Octantis broke me of that opinion. If we take a Viking River, we’ll just deal with it. The most important part is we’ll be together, and if we have to laugh about the experience, later, so be it.

[OnTheJourney]

16 hours ago, May B said:

I chose AMA

We did one with Tauck, which was truly outstanding. I'd like to try Viking sometime for a European river cruise.

[Twitchly]

On 4/29/2024 at 3:42 PM, OnTheJourney said:

I love it! Yes, I'd gladly hang out with both of you. You did Viking ocean if I recall correctly?

Likewise! Our last cruise (on Viking) was to Britain in 2022. We tend to do more land trips (the Holy Land and Jordan last spring; Nova Scotia and PEI this June) but enjoy both. 

[OnTheJourney]

2 hours ago, Twitchly said:

Likewise! Our last cruise (on Viking) was to Britain in 2022. We tend to do more land trips (the Holy Land and Jordan last spring; Nova Scotia and PEI this June) but enjoy both. 

Yep...same here. Car / land touring is still our favorite, but we greatly enjoy cruising also. PEI is great. We spent several weeks there quite a few years ago. Cabot trail...lovely drive. The weather in summer was so nice -  lower temps and humidity than here in PA. And, of course, Charlottetown is often on NE / Canada cruises for us out of Bayonne or Baltimore. We got to see part of the Holy Land with Viking on the "Cities of Antiquities" cruise.

[OnTheJourney]

On 5/1/2024 at 11:57 AM, GonzoWCS said:

IPO today

Picked up some shares. My advisor thought it'd pop higher after the initial opening, so we'll see where it goes. Currently around $28 - roughly 10% higher than the IPO pricing.

[Cienfuegos]

Several sources report the offering was 15x oversubscribed. That is, for each share issued by the company or offered by current holders, there were buyers for 15 shares.  Lots of folks  were interested in buying it at the offering price.  Some of these potential buyers will purchase shares from the packages offered to the underwriting brokerages as an incentive by Viking.

 

That sounds to me like Viking will do a follow on offering, and issue some more stock.

[Baron Barracuda]

1 hour ago, Cienfuegos said:

Several sources report the offering was 15x oversubscribed. That is, for each share issued by the company or offered by current holders, there were buyers for 15 shares.  Lots of folks  were interested in buying it at the offering price.  Some of these potential buyers will purchase shares from the packages offered to the underwriting brokerages as an incentive by Viking.

 

That sounds to me like Viking will do a follow on offering, and issue some more stock.

Most IPO's are well oversubscribed.  Big buyers put in limit orders at multiple prices.  The stock settled at the top of the indicated range knocking out any low bids.  If there had been a real clamor for VIK after opening  it would have popped by more than $2. 

 

The potential for a follow on depends on factors such as Viking's view of the stock's future potential (wait for a better price), their need for cash and the Hagen's willingness to further dilute their position. 

[Mike07]

 

[Cienfuegos]

5 hours ago, Baron Barracuda said:

Most IPO's are well oversubscribed.  Big buyers put in limit orders at multiple prices.  The stock settled at the top of the indicated range knocking out any low bids.  If there had been a real clamor for VIK after opening  it would have popped by more than $2. 

 

The potential for a follow on depends on factors such as Viking's view of the stock's future potential (wait for a better price), their need for cash and the Hagen's willingness to further dilute their position. 

Yes.

 

I'm guessing you concur that the brokers will exercise their approved over-allotment and put a few more shares in play.  I'm sure the Hagen family considered the dilution impact in authorizing the possibility of additional shares.