How the Co-Owner of AmaWaterways Found Success Taking Risks

Read The Article On Women Leading Travel & Hospitality

Written By: Cindy Bertram

Sometimes people like to stay in their comfort zone. They hesitate when it comes to making a move, relocating, or maybe changing a career path, and instead stay on the same track they’ve been on.

Successful people take risks, find new ways to use their expertise, and continue to move forward in their lives and careers. One such example is Kristin Karst, co-founder, co-owner and executive vice president of AmaWaterways. Karst has achieved success by taking risks herself. Known for her bubbly personality, high energy and welcoming demeanor, Karst is also known for the success she has been a part of helping create AmaWaterways.

Insights From Karst

• Key things to learn from your first job and discovering your career – Karst’s first job was working at a local travel agency in Dresden, Germany, where she grew up. Karst was 16 years old and worked in various departments, including outgoing tourism and rail. Here she learned how to deal with clients and the leisure travel environment. As a result, Karst mentioned this was how her wish to study tourism — and then work in the tourism industry — happened.
• Successfully starting her career as a travel agent – Karst did follow through with her wish to study tourism and earned a degree in tourism and hospitality management. Karst had been born in former East Germany and grew up there. Back then there was limited travel, because at that time it had been under the Socialist Unity Party of Germany. When the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, it provided more opportunities. In 1990, Karst started to work as a travel agent with American Express in Dresden, Germany. She also earned her master’s degree.
• Moving up in her career and taking a risk – Karst got promoted and became the manager of the leisure group. An opportunity resulted and Karst took that risk. She relocated to the American Express office located in Zurich, Switzerland which handled multiple operations – group and air, as well as incentive travel for major corporations.
• Taking another risk and relocating to the United States – Karst continued to move up in her career working for American Express in Europe, but then another opportunity came up, which was in the United States. Karst took that position and relocated to Southern California. In 2000, a new opportunity came her way working for a river cruise line, Viking® River Cruises. She applied for the position and then had lunch with Rudi Schreiner, who had opened up Viking® River Cruises. And she got hired, and successfully used her personal knowledge of Europe’s tourism offerings in diverse ways. First she led operations areas, then transferred into sales, where she managed groups and incentive travel. In that role she also worked with tour operators and international markets where she successfully was able to grow Viking® River Cruises’ business.
• The biggest risk Karst took in 2002 – In 2002 she quit her job in order to help launch AmaWaterways. She was a young mother at the time and people thought she was taking a risk, but Karst knew she would succeed. In 2002, Karst and Schreiner partnered with Jimmy Murphy, a very successful entrepreneur, who had been one of the founders of Brendan Vacations. Their diverse strengths and areas of expertise worked well together. Schreiner’s being a driving force in the river cruise travel arena, coupled with Karst’s successes leading operations, diverse sales and tour planning as well as Murphy’s expertise provided the strengths needed to not just start AmaWaterways but achieve success.

Karst’s Suggestions

Karst decided to take her biggest business risk when she was a young mother and decided to quit her job in 2002 in order to launch AmaWaterways. “People thought I was taking a risk, but I knew we would succeed,” she said. After starting AmaWaterways, where they began by chartering ships, in 2005, they did another shift. AmaWaterways started to build and own their own vessels. “This felt like a bigger risk for me. But today in 2024 we own 26 beautiful custom built ships, with more under construction,” Karst said.

Karst is known for being a positive person and always seeing the positive side of things. Karst is also passionate about innovation and loves listening to guest feedback. She will have dinner with guests onboard and mentions she learns more when onboard their ships. Karst is continuing to work with teams to constantly improve, especially in the areas of cuisine, sustainability and wellness, where AmaWaterways is already a trendsetter in their industry.

As far as balance when it comes to work and personal life, Karst mentioned that the person she admires professionally is Schreiner, her business and life partner, who is known as the Godfather of River Cruising. She shared, “It’s important to work hard, play hard, and take people out, including our team, partners and family.”

Karst and Schreiner got married in 2011, and she notes that pairing work with pleasure is something they do well. Their personal/work relationship keeps them going. “You can learn things but it’s also important to make sure your heart is in the right place,” she said.