We are once again humbled by the many awards bestowed on us by our remarkable travel partners recognizing us for the quality of our ships, culinary experience, onboard service and how we personalize the river cruise experience particularly for active cruisers and multigenerational families.
We were excited to see the enthusiastic reception that our new Wellness Hosts received on board six ships this year. Plans are well underway to roll out the activities to all our European fleet 2019 (with the exception of Portugal).
Mother Nature proved a bit of a challenge this fall with the unprecedented low water situation on parts of the Rhine and Danube rivers putting all our teams into high action mode. Modified itineraries and excursion programs were put in place to accommodate last minute changes and our onboard crews did an incredible job of welcoming our guests and ensuring they had the best possible river cruise experience.
My heart goes out to all those affected by the California wildfires. Our Calabasas office was evacuated, and our teams did a truly admirable job of working together from temporary satellite offices, manning the phones and communicating with guests and travel partners during this period which also coincided with the low water disruptions. I want to specially thank our guests and travel partners for their patience and understanding.
I was fortunate to spend seven weeks onboard our ships this fall, and I am so proud of the feedback I received directly from so many of our guests. Our goal when Rudi, Jimmy Murphy and I created AmaWaterways was to have a river cruise company that we ourselves would enjoy and while many might say “mission accomplished”, we will never stop looking for new ways to surprise and delight our guests and welcome them warmly into our AmaFamily.
As we close off this very eventful year, I look back with immense gratitude for the support and loyalty we have received from our guests and our travel partners and am reminded again how fortunate we are to have such talented and committed sales and operational teams onboard our ships and in the offices in Basel, London and California. Lots of great things are planned for 2019 and beyond, and we look forward to cruising with many of you in the very near future!
Happy Holidays,