Believe it or not, river cruise season in Europe has begun – at least for AmaWaterways, whose flagship AmaMagna got the 2022 season off to a start on 06MAR on the Danube.
Co-Owner and Executive Vice President Kristin Karst is on board for the first sailing of what everyone is hoping will be the first, true, ‘post-pandemic’ river cruise season.
But before she left, Kristin sat down on a virtual call with Open Jaw’s Lynn Elmhirst to discuss some great insights into river cruise growth, sentiments about river cruising, the company’s future, and tips especially for Canadian advisors, including:
- Hottest AmaWaterways’ itineraries this year – and which to be booking clients for already for 2023 and getting on the list for when bookings open in 2024;
- Where there’s still room for advisors to book clients this year;
- What COVID protocols advisors’ clients can expect to experience on an AmaWaterways river cruise in Europe or world-wide this year;
- Trends that are driving growth in river cruising, some COVID-related and some lifestyles and special interests;
- Why Canada, Canadian guests, and Canadian advisors are so special for AmaWaterways; and
- In the river cruise line’s 20th anniversary year, what lies ahead for the trend-setting company.
Kristin revealed to Lynn that the partners felt like ‘pioneers’ when they first started out, and how their next move makes them still feel like pioneers now. And that, despite the lingering effects of Omicron, that 2022 could be the company’s best year to date.
