The river cruise line’s eight new ships for Europe will bring its fleet to 40, double what it was five years ago.
CEO Catherine Powell says the new ships are due for delivery in 2030 and are a direct response to “strong demand from guests eager to discover river cruising and Europe’s beautiful rivers”.
“These new ships represent exciting opportunities for our valued travel advisor partners and us to grow together.
“With each new ship, we will continue to sail our guests to the heart of every destination while delivering the high-touch service, elegant design, and immersive experiences that define the cruise line.”
AmaWaterways newest Godmother
Recently, AmaWaterways named US travel advisor Sarah Little Godmother of its newest Danube ship, AmaSofia.
Co-founder Kristin Karst said Little’s enthusiasm for storytelling and building meaningful connections reflects the brand’s essence.
“Sarah’s unwavering support of the advisor community and her deep-rooted passion for the industry make her an exceptional choice as Godmother of our beautiful AmaSofia.
“We are thrilled to honour her with this special recognition. It will be incredibly meaningful to christen AmaSofia in front of more than 1,600 travel advisors during ASTA’s River Cruise Expo – there couldn’t be a more fitting setting or audience for this special celebration.”
The ship will be christened during the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) River Cruise Expo in Amsterdam in March 2026.
Talking to Karryon during her first visit to AmaWaterways Sydney office earlier this month, Karst had also revealed charter ships could be part of its future plans.
Karst says as well as building more ships like AmaMagdalena – the first luxury river cruise ship on Colombia’s Magdalena River – the luxury cruise line could also look at “building smaller ships that just a family or group of friends can charter”.
“People want their own space, and post-COVID they are prepared to spend more money on these experiences because they don’t know what’s coming, and that’s pushing the envelope of the luxury space.”
She says in addition, she sees more room for ships like the double-wide AmaMagna because “that’s about the luxury of space and more choice in restaurants, so we’ll continue to build more ships of this size too”.
For more information, visit AmaWaterways.
