Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Scandinavian Minimalism at Viking Cruises




Forbes recently had a profile on Tor Hagen, the billionaire owner of Viking Cruises.  Viking started with its famous European river cruises, and then expanded to ocean cruises.

Viking targets the luxury market, and focuses on American couples over 55.

Yet, for a luxury cruise line, they don't pamper guests.  They eschew casinos, formal nights, mini-water parks, and butlers.

Instead, they focus on ease, simplicity, and comfort.

For example, Hagen showed the reporter how easy it was to open the shampoo and conditioner bottles.  As the Forbes article mentioned, he was once frustrated by "Hermes bath products at a luxe Monte Carlo hotel, which featured illegible gold lettering and were impossible to open without using your teeth."

He also showed the TV remote, which had just  9 jumbo buttons.  Hagen said, "This is my design. No teenager is required to operate it."

This is what I call user simplicity.