When Rudi Schreiner and I started our company 15 years ago, we wanted to create a river cruise company that we ourselves would want to travel with.
15 years have flown by since that July 1st day in 2002 when Rudi, Jimmy Murphy and I sat together in a one room office and officially started up Amadeus Waterways. Our roles were clearly defined… Rudi would design and build the ships, I would fill them and Jimmy would provide both of us the guidance and wisdom we would need to turn this dream into a reality.
I believe there were four things that brought us to where we are today and will continue to guide us in the future. These four pillars – or, as I call them, my “four P’s” – are Passion, Partnerships, Positive Thinking and Personal Interaction.
From the beginning, we envisioned AmaWaterways as an entrepreneurial family business and as such we hired for attitude – always looking for that “can do” spirit and passion for life - confident that the rest could be taught. That special something that we look for is what we call today the “FLEPS” Factor – it stands for Family, Love, Enthusiasm, Passion and Sparkle.
We also searched for those special business partners who believed in our vision and who we could trust to help us deliver the product quality and personal service that would set us apart from the competition. When we weren’t researching ports of call and designing interesting excursions or choosing menus and wines, Rudi and I would hit the road crisscrossing the US and Canada, so excited to share our “AmaWaterways Family” story with all the travel agents attending the travel conferences and trade shows. It was truly this close association with our travel agency distribution partners that helped grow AmaWaterways into the company we are today. Our Business Development Managers keep those relationships alive—supported every day by our excellent Reservations, Marketing, Operations, IT and Accounting Teams.
It’s impossible to thank everyone who has contributed their ideas, hard work and positive thinking to the company over the past 15 years but I would like to give a special thank you to our dedicated Cruise Managers and staff onboard our ships—from the beginning, they shared our passion and continue to deliver exceptional, personalized service to each of our guests on every voyage. I also want to thank Wade and Leo, our Managers in our Basel office—they have been with us since 2004 and were instrumental in creating a strong foundation for our success!
An enormous thank you goes out to all our loyal guests who have so willingly and joyfully shared their Ama-zing cruise memories through letters, feedback cards or on social media.
On July 9th, our Calabasas office employees and their families came together to celebrate 15 years of Ama-zing memories. Kids of all ages enjoyed the Ferris wheel, face painting and dancing – I thought it would be fun to share a few of the pictures from the happy event.