Week-long Celebration Honoring Company’s 15th Anniversary and Arrival of New Ship Gathers Together AmaWaterways’ Executives, Valued Partners and Past Godmothers
Calabasas, CA - (May. 10, 2017) -
AmaWaterways today officially welcomed the company’s newest vessel, AmaKristina, to its fleet with a christening ceremony in Lahnstein, Germany. The namesake of AmaWaterways’ Co-Owner and Executive Vice President Kristin Karst, AmaKristina represents AmaWaterways’ award-winning commitment to innovative ship design and exceptional guest comfort and service. The special ceremony celebrates the arrival of the company’s 20th ship and marks the 15th year anniversary.
“When Kristin Karst, Jimmy Murphy and I sat down to dream up the perfect river cruise company, we shared a vision of inviting guests to discover the spectacular scenery and enchanting towns along the world’s most iconic rivers in a style that was luxurious yet warm and friendly. Having our guests, our employees and our business partners feel a part of our family venture has been at the center of all our decisions since that day,” said Schreiner. “As we celebrate the beautiful AmaKristina and her equally remarkable Godmother, I look around and am so very proud that our dream has become a reality.”
The christening event itself was part of a weeklong celebration, during which guests onboard were joined by Karst, AmaWaterways’ President and Co-Owner Rudi Schreiner, AmaWaterways’ Vice President, Sales and Co-Owner Gary Murphy, past Godmothers, travel industry friends and international media. Presiding over his tenth AmaWaterways christening ceremony, Captain Jan de Bruijn welcomed Karst and over 200 international and local guests to the special afternoon event, which featured a dockside cocktail reception, traditional religious blessing, local entertainment and warm welcome by Mayor, Peter Labonte on behalf of the town of Lahnstein. Celebrations continued into the evening with a gala dinner and were culminated with a surprise fireworks display.
“I am overjoyed and blessed to share this occasion with my parents, close friends and respected industry partners,” said Karst. “It’s such an incredible honor to be the Godmother and namesake of this newest addition to the Ama family.”
In celebration of this momentous occasion, Karst was accompanied by several AmaWaterways’ Godmothers that have been instrumental to AmaWaterways’ success over the past 15 years including: Jackie Friedman, President, Nexion; Godmother AmaViola, 2016; Michelle Fee, CEO, Cruise Planners; Godmother AmaSerena, 2015 and Brenda Kyllo, Vice President, Strategic Alliances, AmaWaterways; Godmother AmaSonata, 2014.
Sister-ship to AmaViola and AmaStella, AmaKristina accommodates 156 guests and will be sailing the Rhine River between Amsterdam and Basel. Travelers will enjoy spacious staterooms with signature twin-balconies and three dining venues including The Chef’s Table – an intimate dining experience with an exquisite, multi-course tasting menu paired with hand-selected regional wines all at no additional cost. Other features include the comfortable sundeck with running track; heated pool and swim-up bar; convenient elevator with enhanced access to the lower deck and expanded fitness center; hair salon and spa; free Wi-Fi throughout the ship; in-room Entertainment-On-Demand system and complimentary beer and fine wine with lunch and dinner.
“I never dreamed that as a young girl growing up in Dresden on the banks of the Elbe River that I would one day have a ship named after me,” said Karst. “The last 15 years have been a remarkable journey and today, I am so proud to christen our newest ship and take this moment to thank all our guests, employees, onboard teams, ship builders and travel industry partners that have contributed to our success.”
A ship’s christening is a long-standing tradition within the cruise industry originating more than 4,000 years ago. The momentous ceremony features the blessing of the ship by an appointed Godmother and concludes with a more recent good luck tradition of breaking a bottle of champagne against the ship’s hull.
For more information or to book an AmaKristina sailing, contact a travel professional, visit www.AmaWaterways.com, call (800) 626-0126, or Follow AmaWaterways on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AmaWaterways and Twitter @AmaWaterways.