“We pride ourselves on the personalized service we offer; we believe that’s what sets us apart from our competition.”
Article from CruisesNews magazine, issue 49 – June 2019
Kristin Karst has an extensive career in the tourism industry, having worked for eight years as a Leisure Travel Manager at American Express, based in Dresden, Germany, and then as a Special Groups Manager from Zurich, Switzerland. In 1999, she moved to the US to work for Viking River Cruises, and shortly thereafter, in 2002, she founded AmaWaterways with her partner and husband, Rudi Schreiner, and the late Jimmy Murphy.
AmaWaterways is a young company in the river cruise industry. It was founded in 2002. How did it all begin?
AmaWaterways was founded in 2002 by Rudi Schreiner, the late Jimmy Murphy, and myself, but our river cruising story began long before that.
Our president, Rudi Schreiner, was born in Vienna, in the heart of the Danube. His passion for design led him to a career in architecture, but his great enthusiasm for travel took him to faraway places. Combining these two passions, along with the completion of the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal in 1992 (which enabled long-distance river cruising), Rudi became a driving force for the expansion and modernization of the river cruise industry as we know it today.
I'm originally from Dresden, Germany, and my experience in international travel sales and customer service began when I worked at American Express managing a luxury group and incentive travel division. Rudi came into my life in the United States in 2000 while I was working for Viking, and two years later, with the help of Jimmy Murphy, a brilliant travel entrepreneur, we founded AmaWaterways.
From the outset, our goal was to create a river cruise company that we ourselves would enjoy. That meant excellent cuisine and a fine wine selection, comfortable and tasteful décor, and plenty of space to relax, along with a host of exciting excursions to make your experience at the destination truly personal.
The most important thing for us was creating that warm and welcoming atmosphere that can only happen when you have staff who love their work, are passionate about customer service, and want to share their culture with our guests. Selecting and training the right staff has been central to the company's growth strategy and remains one of the key areas where Rudi and I have invested a great deal of our time.
Now in 2019, we are a dynamic river cruise company with our headquarters in Calabasas, California, and sales and operations support offices in the UK and Switzerland. This year we launched three ships, bringing our fleet to a total of 23 ships, plus another new one we just announced for 2020.
Most of our boats operate on iconic European rivers: the Rhine, the Danube, the Moselle, the Rhône, the Seine, the Douro and the Garonne, taking our guests through countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Portugal, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Serbia, Croatia and Bulgaria… but we also have one in Vietnam and Cambodia on the Mekong and one in Africa on the Chobe River in Botswana.
What are the company's differentiating values?
We have always strived to have a comfortable and luxurious environment on board our ships, and that involves two aspects: the hardware; the design and decoration, and the software; our onboard equipment.
We have designed our ships to be elegant yet warm and welcoming. We have won numerous awards for the quality of our food and wines, as well as for the wide range of active excursions included free of charge for our guests: Cruise Critic, Best River Cruise Line, Best for Active Cruisers, Best for City & Nature, Best Onboard Activities, Best Shore Activities, and Best Cuisine are just some of the prestigious awards we have received.
Another distinguishing feature is the wide variety of shore excursions already included in the price, up to 20 different excursions during a one-week cruise, all conducted in small groups with expert guides and many active options such as cycling and hiking.
But what we're truly proud of is the personalized service we offer, as we believe that's what sets us apart from our competition. Exceeding customer expectations means listening to their needs and anticipating what will surprise and delight them. We select and hire people with a real spark; we train them thoroughly about our product and explain exactly what guests of different nationalities appreciate.
Destinations, boats, rivers, and excursions will change over the years, but that human connection is essential and will always remain the top priority at AmaWaterways.
The AmaDouro is your second ship on this river. Tell us about the ship and what the first river cruises on the Douro were like. Why did you decide to start operations there?
Rudi fell in love with the UNESCO-designated Douro River area in 2012, before it became widely known to American cruisers. Rudi worked with our partner DouroAzul to develop new ports of call and shore excursions to market two itineraries and launched our first ship, the AmaVida, in 2013. The cruises were popular from the start, but when geopolitical events unfolded elsewhere in Europe, Portugal really began to attract the attention of travelers seeking an alternative holiday destination with wonderful weather, unspoiled nature, historical sites to visit, quality wines, and great food to enjoy. For the past two years, we haven't been able to meet customer demand with just one ship, so we are very happy to welcome a second ship to the fleet, our new "golden boy," the AmaDouro. We now have two wonderful ships offering two distinct trips along the Douro River with shore programs before and/or after the cruises in Lisbon and Madrid.
Its passengers are mostly American. What other nationalities can we expect to find on board? What is the company's positioning in the Spanish market? Is this a target market for Ama?
As a California-based company, Rudi and I had very strong relationships within the American and Canadian travel agency sectors, so naturally, these became our primary source markets when we started AmaWaterways in 2002. For many years, our capacity couldn't meet the demand from these two countries, but as we've grown our fleet to 23 ships and opened our UK office, we're better positioned to serve customers from new markets like Spain, which is becoming an increasingly important market for us. In fact, in recent years, we've seen a remarkable increase in the number of Spanish customers enjoying our special brand of high-quality river cruise holidays in Europe, Asia, and Africa.
AmaMagna offers a completely new Danube River cruise experience, with a style of luxury similar to ocean cruises.
It's often said that the average age of river cruise passengers is quite high. Are you seeing any changes in this regard?
The average age of guests on our river cruises has decreased significantly over the past five years, partly due to the younger customers who have been introduced to our product through our partnerships with Adventures by Disney and Backroads, but also due to the popularity of our wine cruises, which attract a younger audience. While 50 percent of our guests are over 65, another 46 percent are between 35 and 65. Regardless of age, our guests are active individuals who exercise regularly, are health-conscious, have a keen interest in the fine arts, and enjoy discovering a variety of wines and locally sourced cuisine. Regardless of their age or nationality, our team is there to ensure that the moment a guest steps aboard, they and their family feel like part of our family.
How would you define an AmaWaterways customer? Are they seasoned travelers? Have they been on ocean cruises before?
AmaWaterways attracts customers who share the philosophy that life is about experiences, people, and the things that make life special.
While many of today's travel products seem designed for specific segments like "Millennials" or "Adults Only," we've taken a different approach to our river cruises: one of inclusivity, in terms of age and family composition. One that also offers guests the opportunity to truly personalize their cruise experience based on everything included in the price of our river cruises.
Our small ship size, attentive crews, wide variety of included shore excursions, and multiple dining options allow every guest who sails with us the opportunity to enjoy their river cruise vacation their way. An AmaWaterways river cruise offers incredible value, and our distinctive approach to inclusivity and personalization appeals to many types of guests, including those who have previously experienced traditional ocean cruising and those who have never cruised before.
In designing a ship as revolutionary as the newly launched AmaMagna, we've dispelled the misconception that suites on a river cruise ship aren't as large and luxurious as those on ocean liners. Most of the cabins on AmaMagna are suites ranging from 33 to 66 square meters and are sure to appeal to all types of travelers. In addition to spacious suites, AmaMagna boasts four distinct onboard restaurants, a large Zen Wellness Studio, and exclusive golf packages, all of which will be a major draw for both our existing guests and new river cruisers.
In recent years, expedition cruises have experienced a boom. Are you planning to delve deeper into this segment, or is your strategy more focused on Europe?
Our expertise and passion lie with rivers, and we believe there are still many opportunities available to us in this segment of the travel industry to keep us very busy in the immediate future.
How have your ships evolved from the first to the latest?
Part of what makes AmaWaterways so unique in the river cruise industry is our deliberate pace in developing new design concepts, not only in response to valuable customer feedback, but also our ability to anticipate emerging needs. It is this mindset that truly allows our team to offer innovative features and itineraries that continue to surprise and delight our guests.
We constantly strive to exceed the expectations of our discerning river cruise passengers, and those expectations have changed and evolved over the past 17 years and will continue to do so. This has impacted the design of our ships, as well as the diversity of our services and amenities. Some of the innovations AmaWaterways has brought to the river cruise market include the introduction of balconies in staterooms, onboard bicycles, destination tours that can be done on foot or by bicycle, connecting staterooms for families, the Chef's Table restaurant with a tasting menu and wine pairings, Wellness Hosts, and the "myAmaCruise" app for our guests, which offers arguably the best free Wi-Fi access on the rivers we cruise.
We are seeing a growing number of clients seeking something new, and we are also attracting younger clients looking for active options while exploring new destinations. Luxury travelers expect personalization of every aspect of their vacation, and we are working diligently to ensure that the options we offer meet and exceed their expectations.
As the river cruise market continues to grow, we intend to remain at the forefront of innovation in this industry. Our newest ship, the AmaMagna, offers more living space and more options for our guests, including multiple dining choices, a larger spa and fitness center, and enhanced evening entertainment.
River cruising is a luxury product, but the word “luxury” is constantly being redefined and has become more about the time, space, service, and personalization of the travel experience. Acting as luxury floating hotels, river cruises nearly double the amount of leisure time spent at each destination, and while the small size of river cruise ships may limit onboard entertainment options, it allows for unique opportunities to personalize onboard service and amenities, as well as shore excursion experiences.
I firmly believe that while destinations, boats, rivers, and itineraries will change over the years, human connection is more important now than ever. Providing a personal, family-like experience for our guests will always remain AmaWaterways' top priority.
There is great concern about the environmental impact of large ocean-going cruise ships. What kind of measures does AmaWaterways take to preserve rivers and the environment?
Our success is linked to the protection and well-being of the rivers we navigate and the communities we visit. Over the years, AmaWaterways has demonstrated a commitment to river preservation, especially through thoughtful design. Environmental responsibility is the foundation upon which AmaWaterways ships are built, and ecotourism is a top priority driving AmaWaterways engineering, championed by President and Co-Founder Rudi Schreiner.
The new AmaMagna is powered by a 10-engine system that enables lower fuel consumption and a significant reduction in noise. Despite being twice as wide as traditional vessels, this revolutionary boat design anticipates that this new engine configuration will reduce fuel consumption by 20-25%, depending on river conditions. This is a first for the river cruise industry, and AmaWaterways is proud to introduce it. With a hull designed for navigating shallow waters and equipped with a new, quiet, and energy-efficient engine configuration, AmaMagna further demonstrates AmaWaterways' continued leadership as innovators in the river cruise industry.
Some of the additional environmentally conscious design elements include:
• LED lights throughout the boat.
• Special insulating windows that reduce energy consumption for heating and air conditioning.
• Paper straws to reduce the use of plastic.
• Plugs that connect to a port's power supply instead of using generators.
• A new freshwater storage system to reduce the use of chemicals.
• A water purification plant with more than 420 tons of water on board.
• Solar energy heating system.
Feminism has taken on a much more prominent role in our society, and we celebrate the fact that women are gradually rising not only into management positions but also into technical roles such as captains. Tell us about the women in your company.
Diversity of all kinds has been fundamental to AmaWaterways' corporate culture since the company was founded 17 years ago. As an entrepreneur in the travel industry, I have been very fortunate to have been surrounded by so many hardworking and talented women within our own company, in the travel agency sector, and in other parts of the tourism industry. Many years ago, we decided to celebrate the achievements and contributions of women in our industry, and we are proud to have appointed nine senior travel executives as godmothers of our river cruises. For us, it is a special way to recognize their contribution to our success and the success they have brought to the companies they founded or represent.
I'm also proud of the diversity and balance within our own teams: 45% of our senior executive team in California are women, and our team of 60 outstanding cruise directors is 50% women. Last year, we hired our first in-house naval architect, a very talented young woman, and we continue to proactively support a gender-balanced policy across all areas of our business.
Until a few years ago, there was a marked imbalance between women reaching top leadership positions in most of the travel sector, and specifically in the cruise industry. The good news is that, based on several discussions I've recently participated in about the travel industry, I believe a definitive shift is underway. The travel industry is beginning to embrace a better balance between women and men in management roles, and I believe this will provide a wealth of new values and inspiration for innovation and growth in our industry in the coming years.
The AmaMagna is your next ship. Tell us why it's so special.
The AmaMagna offers a completely new Danube cruising experience, combining ocean-going luxury with exclusive access to destinations only available on river cruises.
We see many guests looking for something new; our clientele is getting younger and more active, and we're seeing more multigenerational families and themed groups with diverse interests coming aboard. We also heard from our partners that many ocean cruisers wanted to try river cruising but were hesitant due to cabin size and the smaller number of onboard restaurants. We took all of this into consideration when designing AmaMagna to ensure more spaciousness and more choices for our guests, including four distinct restaurants, a larger Zen Wellness studio with a spa and fitness center, an enhanced nightly show, and—a first for river cruising—a watersports platform.
AmaWaterways attracts customers who share the philosophy that life is about experiences, people, and the things that make life special.
We all knew that this innovative ship's double-hull design would open up new possibilities, but I think we ourselves were surprised by the feeling of spaciousness in the lounges and restaurants on board, not to mention the new design of the luxurious suites, most of which range from 33 to 66 square meters. Our first guests embarked on May 5 and were impressed by the spaciousness of the lounge areas, the new Al Fresco restaurant, and the Zen Wellness Studio with its watersports platform. With a hull designed for navigating shallow waters and equipped with a new, quiet, and fuel-efficient engine configuration, AmaMagna further demonstrates our ongoing commitment to innovation in the river cruise industry.
The name AmaWaterways comes from “ama,” the Latin word for love, which inspired the creation of AmaMagna’s romantic Anniversary Celebration package. Guests who wish to do so will be invited to a special ceremony, complimentary massages, and other services to celebrate this special occasion.
AmaMagna's exclusive "Concierge Golf" Program is another attractive option, perfect for those who wish to practice their swing on up to five prestigious European golf courses. Services include club care and cleaning, luxurious private transportation in a Mercedes, and much more. This program is sure to appeal to golf enthusiasts as well.
