Lots of exciting news from the rivers as your AmaFamily continues to grow. New ships, new godparents, new itineraries, new destinations, new cruise managers and new team members taking care of our guests around the globe. If you didn’t have a chance to join us to celebrate our July 1st 20th Anniversary, you can still whip up our special AmaTwenty anniversary cocktail and watch the Sip & Sail virtual event here.
Christenings of new ships are always festive occasions and the christening of AmaLucia on July 31st in Rudesheim, Germany was a particularly joyful event as our youngest ever Godparents, Will (11) and Riley (14) Farmer performed the traditional naming ceremony followed by the good luck breaking of the champagne bottle on the hull of the ship (view the video). Our guests on board joined Rudi, myself and Captain Arjan along with Rudesheim Mayor Klaus Zapp and other local dignitaries in welcoming this newest addition to the AmaWaterways fleet of 25 ships. Will and Riley, children of our friend and business partner Colin Farmer, were chosen to do the honors as they proposed the name for this new ship following a river cruise we shared together in 2019. Multilingual and multitalented, their love of travel, openness to change, respect of cultural diversity and their deep concern for protecting the environment really personify the values that AmaWaterways holds dear. By choosing this young brother and sister team as Godparents for AmaLucia, we are celebrating our commitment to families and the important life lessons that travel has to offer guests of all ages.
AmaDahlia’s inaugural season on the Nile River in Egypt was a tremendous success and to meet the demand for this new program, we are so happy to announce the arrival of a sistership, AmaLilia, in 2024. They will share the same cruise and land itinerary, just departing on different days of the week, with wonderful pre- and post-cruise options in Jordan, Israel and Dubai.
When it comes to new itineraries, 2023 offers some special interest cruises like Celebration of Classical Music : The Danube.
Take a peek at some of the new wine experts that will be hosting over 60 Celebrations of Wine cruises in 2023, or you can be one of our first guests to experience the new November and December AmaDouro cruises along the Douro River. My favorite Christmas Market cruises are filling quickly so I encourage everyone to plan now for that special 2023 family reunion.
International travel is getting back to normal, and 2023 is shaping up to be an exceptional year for river cruising. Rudi and I spent six weeks on different ships this summer and it truly felt like a family reunion to be back on the rivers once again creating life-long memories with our wonderful guests, remarkable crews and valued travel partners.
I think our youthful godparent, Riley Farmer, summed it up perfectly at the end of her christening address, “Ama means love and we are all family.”