One of AmaWaterways’ bosses has reported “very strong” booking levels for February but admitted demand for Danube sailings had dipped following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Kristin Karst, the line’s co-founder and executive vice-president, said sales “built up” in recent months as consumer confidence grew and some passengers were even choosing to book “back-to-back” cruises on the Rhone, the Seine and the Rhine.
Speaking during a Travel Weekly webcast, she said: “There are some very nice bookings for 2022. Maybe less so for the Danube. More people have decided they want to go to the Rhine or France and many like back-to-back cruises.”
Although Karst said she had not seen many cancellations recently, she suggested “not too many” new Danube bookings had been made due to the conflict in Ukraine.
Karst outlined how “several” departures this month would have British passengers on. “The UK market is mingling well with our Canadian and US passengers,” she said.
British passengers have booked one of the line’s Seven River Journey itineraries in 2023. “I am very proud we have bookings from the UK,” she said.
Sailings along the Mekong river in south-east Asia were traditionally popular with Britons, said Karst,
AmaWaterways will return to Mekong in mid-October this year, according to Karst.
She explained supply chain issues had hampered south-east Asia’s return as a river cruise destination. “We want to make sure that when our guests come on board, they get the same great service, great food cuisine product that they always get from AmaWaterways,” she said.
Asked about introducing a second double-width vessel into the fleet, Karst hinted that any decision about AmaMagna II, potentially carrying around 196 passengers, would depend on how successful the cruise brand was this year.
But she added the line might build a second ship to operate alongside the 70-passenger AmaDahlia vessel on the Nile.
“[We] might even build a second ship because the demand is so high,” she added.
Last year, AmaWaterways and tour operator Metropolitan Touring agreed a partnership deal to offer voyages on a new ship in Colombia from December 2023.
Karst predicts demand for the line’s sailings on Colombia’s Magdalena river would be “huge”.
“I see [demand] from the UK, the US and Latin America,” she said.
More: Sailing on Danube is ‘safe’ despite Ukraine conflict, says AmaWaterways boss