The question I am most frequently asked is, “What is your favorite ship or itinerary?” My heartfelt response is always, “it is the ship I am currently cruising on” because traveling with AmaWaterways isn’t just about the wonderful places we’ll take you; it’s very much about the special people you will meet along the way.
While I am very proud of all our 24 ships and recognize the hard work that our AmaFamily puts into planning the itineraries and developing the variety and quality of our shore excursions and onboard activities, it is the people who truly make your experience remarkable. Our genuinely warm and welcoming crew goes above and beyond to ensure your journey is as memorable as possible. Fellow guests become lifelong friends, local guides share personal stories that bring a destination to life and our Cruise Managers and Hotel Managers are always on the lookout for ways to bring surprise and delight moments to each guest’s time on board.
And speaking of surprises, Rudi and I were deeply honored to be among this year’s recipients of Travel Weekly’s Lifetime Achievement Awards. It was particularly fitting that we stood together on stage as partners in business and life, as it is the love we shared for river cruising and each other that led us to create AmaWaterways with our dear friend Jimmy Murphy. Our dream was to create a river cruise company that we ourselves would enjoy and where our employees, guests, travel advisors and business partners would feel like part of our AmaFamily. It is our achievements made possible through our extended family’s expertise, trust and loyalty that we are celebrating with these awards.
Our journey continues with as much love as the day we embarked and we are very excited about all the new projects we have in store. Rudi has more innovative ships he would like to build that will open new river cruise experiences like our much-anticipated return to the Nile. At the same time, we are very much focused on innovative ways of protecting the environment and enriching the local communities where our ships visit. On my part, I’m having a wonderful time working with our operations teams to introduce interesting, healthy cuisine ideas and new wellness activities and most important, engaging with travel partners around the world to ensure we remain their #1 river cruise partner when it comes to booking vacations for their discerning clients.
For us, river cruising is truly a labor of love and our hearts are filled with joy and appreciation as we look back on some of the many wonderful moments we celebrated in 2019.
We can’t wait to take you within our ships’ warm embrace and show you the world one river at a time.
Your AmaWaterways Family joins me in sending our heartfelt wishes for a healthy and happy 2020!