There are certain things you may never have dreamed of doing, simply because you never could have imagined them in the first place. These unbelievable sights might make you doubletake, like sailing by swimming elephants who are using their trunks as snorkels, floating through produce vendors operating out of wooden canoes, or bobbing by towering pharaohs that seem to survey you from 3,000-year-old posts. In the world of river cruising, sights like these are very much a reality, and precisely the sort of things that today’s guest likes to share with others. Listen in as AmaWaterways Co-Founder and President Rudi Schreiner shares some of the most amazing river cruise experiences to be found along the waterways of Africa, Asia, and South America.
Host: Louisa Horn | Guest Speaker: Rudi Schreiner
Rudi Schreiner was born in Vienna, at the heart of the Danube. His love of design drew him to architecture, but his even greater love of travel drew him to places far and wide. In 1975, he traveled to South America for a journalism assignment on the Amazon. It was here he designed his first ship, using what he could find to build a raft that would take him up and down the river during the next 7 months. Soon thereafter, he started working in travel, creating unique tour experiences in Europe.
Rudi started the North American operations for many of today’s major river cruise companies, developing itineraries and ships that would become the templates for what we know river cruising to be today. After years of success as a driving force in the industry, Rudi decided to start his own venture — one that would provide guests with a higher standard of luxury travel by river. That’s when he teamed up with Co-Owners and Co-Founders Kristin Karst and Jimmy Murphy to start AmaWaterways.
In 2016, Rudi was inducted into the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Hall of Fame and was honored with their Lifetime Achievement Award for his years of devotion to the river cruising industry.