A native of Dresden, Germany, Kristin Karst has a degree in the Economics of Tourism & Business Management, as well as a Master of Business Administration from the University of Dresden. After working at American Express for eight years Kristin moved to the United States and entered the river cruise industry.

In 2002, she leapt at the opportunity to team up with Rudi Schreiner and Jimmy Murphy, co-founding AmaWaterways. Kristin’s extensive knowledge of Europe’s culture and traditions, as well as providing top-notch customer service, enable her to effectively promote European river cruising with travel agents, group leaders and diverse educational and business organizations.

She was honoured by the Hall of Fame in 2019.