Travel Agent Central
In its first-ever christening of a river cruise ship, the medieval town of Lahnstein, Germany, orchestrated a spectacle to herald the arrival of AmaWaterways’ newest vessel, the AmaKristina, and celebrate the company’s 15th anniversary. Horns blew, bands played, and a fireboat shot water cannons as the ship docked on the Rhine river bank for pomp and pageantry that included jugglers, fire eaters, dancers and wooden huts filled with beer and local German culinary specialties. Dignitaries including Mayor Peter Labonte and town leaders welcomed more than 200 guests to the dockside cocktail celebration, religious blessing and christening, all flanked by guardsmen dressed in medieval garb, helmets and pikes. Two dozen local school children performed newly composed songs to commemorate the celebration, to the delight of guests seated under a tent overlooking the glamorous Stolzenfels Castle on the banks of the Rhine.