A Message to Travel Advisors from AmaWaterways’ New CEO
AmaWaterways’ new CEO, Catherine Powell, wants travel advisors to know she has no plans to change the brand or erode its relationship with travel advisors.
Photo: AmaWaterways
AmaWaterways sent shockwaves through the river cruise industry when Rudi Schreiner announced he would be stepping down as CEO, making newcomer Catherine Powell head of the company as of July 1, 2025. With AmaWaterways very much a product of the heart and soul of Schreiner and partner Kristin Karst (who remains active as chief brand ambassador), it was only natural that river cruise sellers wondered, will anything change at the cruise line without both Rudi and Kristin involved in the business on a daily basis?
TMR reached out to Powell to find out what will change, if anything?
Powell told TMR she sees herself as a “caretaker” of the AmaWaterways brand and that she’s very aware of the importance of the travel advisor community to the brand.
TMR: How important is the legacy of what Rudi and Kristin built, both in terms of the product for clients as well as AmaWaterways’ relationship with travel advisors?
Powell: That legacy is most critical. Because everything that Rudi and Kristin have created – it is AmaWaterways.
And that is what attracted me to the role, that you have, not just incredible product – river cruising, beautiful ships, amazing crew, amazing destinations – but you have it wrapped in this brand that is full of the love and the warmth and the care that Rudi and Kristin have created. They’ve done it for the brand. They’ve done it in the way they’ve designed the ships. They’ve done it in how they train our crew, and they’ve done it with how they look after our partners, our travel agents. And that is critical to what AmaWaterways is.
And I see that that is so important and that is what I will continue to nurture and to care for and to protect. I see myself as a caretaker of the AmaWaterways brand.
It is something that is so special and it is certainly not something that I would want to change in any way.
TMR: What can travel advisors expect from AmaWaterways moving forward? Will anything change?
Powell: We will evolve the brand. This was work that started before I joined. Kristin and Rudi were looking at ways in which to evolve, to refresh. So, there will be those sorts of brand evolutions but the core, the heart, the DNA of AmaWaterways won’t change.
And as you say, part of that DNA is the relationship with advisors. They are the backbone to the business. They understand Ama better than anyone. They represent and advocate and love AmaWaterways better than anyone. And I don’t want to change that.
As we evolve, we will do it in a thoughtful way that continues to keep the core but refreshes where it makes sense. One of the exciting pieces of being in this industry at the moment is that it’s hot. People love river cruising and they’re discovering river cruising for the first time. So, those expectations and those behaviors are changing or evolving. How can we do our best to understand and anticipate what our guests want so that we continue to offer them that incredible annual experience? And help our partners and advisors understand that as well?
We will grow our fleet. We will grow the destinations. Our team and our brand will evolve with this and our relationship with our travel advisors will evolve, and they will grow with us. And that is a very, very important priority for me and will continue to be.
Wherever we go, however we are growing, they will be part of that journey.
TMR: With Kristin in a new role at AmaWaterways, will you work together?
Powell: Yes, we will work closely together. She will go to events. She will meet our agents. She will do interviews, talking about the brand, especially as we evolve the brand and we have a new brand story to tell. We will work together to make sure that we’re not duplicating, there will be messages that I will have that will be very business focused. It will be complementary. There will be events that I will go to that Kristin won’t be able to go to, and there’ll be events that Kristin will go to that I won’t be able to go to. We should both be equally able to sit there and represent the brand and build relationships.
TMR: What should travel advisors be most excited about regarding AmaWaterways’ future?
Powell: The path that we are on is the path that we were on. We are growing and it is so exciting to be part of something that is growing both the industry and AmaWaterways as a brand. They can look forward to more innovation in terms of the destinations that we choose. I’m actively having discussions with the team now about where we want to go next. They can be very excited about the new ships – we’ll continue to have the loving and careful design and architecture of the ships that Ama is so well known for. We will continue to have the most excellent service.
Honestly, it’s a continuation of everything that made AmaWaterways good, just more of it. And that’s what they should be excited about.
TMR: Do you have anything else you’d like to say to travel advisors?
Powell: Just to repeat my absolute commitment to an understanding of the importance of our relationship with our travel agents. I want to continue to do what we’ve already been doing. It works for AmaWaterways; it works for them. I’ve seen it. I’ve seen it in the agents that I’ve met. They are our best advocates. I want to keep them advocating for AmaWaterways.
And we see them, we hear them, we listen to them, we respond, we act. Everything we’re doing takes into account what we hear from them. It really is a partnership and we benefit from that. They benefit from that. It’s not something I take for granted.
