In a landmark event for both river cruising and Colombian tourism, AmaWaterways officially christened its newest ship, AmaMagdalena, on Tuesday in the UNESCO-designated city of Mompox.

The current CEO and Co-Founder of AmaWaterways Rudi Schreiner will transition to a new role as Chairman of the Board, with President Catherine Powell to step up as the company’s new CEO from 1 July.

The launch of AmaWaterways’ AmaMagdalena, the first-ever luxury river cruise ship to sail the Magdalena River in Colombia, marks a major milestone for the river cruise company.

AmaWaterways has forged a new partnership with Smithsonian Journeys , the travel program of the Smithsonian Institution, to offer co-branded river cruises which will set sail next year.

AmaWaterways’ President and Co-Founder, Rudi Schreiner, dubbed the “godfather of river cruising,” received the esteemed Outstanding Contribution Award from Seatrade Cruise. The award celebrates Schreiner’s long-standing history of innovating the river cruising industry, most recently with the revolutionary AmaMagna, which is twice the width of traditional river cruise ships. Schreiner accepted the award in Hamburg, Germany at the CLIA Germany Gala Dinner during SeaTrade Europe on 11 September, 2019.