Kristin Karst, Smitty and Rudi Schreiner (AMA Waterways)
In July 2013, I had the distinct privilege of meeting Kristin Karst and Rudi Schreiner, two of the three visionaries who started AMA Waterways.
Rudi’s background in architecture, as well as his love for travel, had a big part in the design of their custom built ships, while Kristin brought her experience with another cruise line, American Express, and other overseas travel to the table. The other key player of this threesome was Jimmy Murphy, who founded Brendan Vacations.
Rudi, Kristin and I had an enlightening conversation about river cruising – They not only have river cruises in Europe, but they also sail on the Volga River in Russia, the Amazon, and in Africa, they sail the Nile and also have a couple of river cruise/safari packages that includes Victoria Falls! HOW COOL IS THAT!?! For details, go to http://www.amawaterways.com/africa-river-cruises.
AMA Waterways also has other themed cruises, such as Jewish Heritage Cruises, Wine Cruises, a Chocolate Cruise and even a Knitting Cruise!
There are quite a number of river cruise companies out there, but for me, supporting a family owned company that really care about their passengers is important.