Pamela Mattia

I remember the moment I fell in love with cruising. It was my very first cruise and I was sitting on my balcony and looking out at the Caribbean sea. I felt completely relaxed and fulfilled, and I have been a fan of cruising ever since. When my children were small, I discovered Disney Cruise Line, and now I am excited to see that Disney is teaming with AmaWaterways to do river cruising. I am constantly amazed at how quickly the industry evolves to satisfy more and more dreams. The features each new mega-ship adds are incredible; they are like mini-cities of fun at sea, with tons of choices for dining and nightlife and activities from morning to night for every age and interest.

I stay up to date on the major lines via online training and try to take as many familiarization trips as I can. This year, I have plans to sail on Royal Caribbean’s new Anthem of the Seas, which has bumper cars in addition to its rock climbing wall and iFly simulated Sky Diving, Norwegian Cruise Line’s new Bliss, with the largest go-cart race track at sea and Broadway entertainment (I’ll be seeing Jersey Boys!) and AmaWaterways’ AmaMagna, which is launching in 2019. AmaMagna is nearly twice the width of traditional European river ships and offers lots more choices for onboard fitness, entertainment and dining. 

One of the first group trips I planned was a cruise, and 20 years later, I am still planning trips for this group and getting referrals from them. Now they are in the 70s to 90s and while I’ve had to incorporate plans for things like oxygen tanks and in-cabin fridges for diabetes management, they are still going strong, and the cruise lines are incredibly accommodating. Last year they combined travel to Dubai and India with a two week sailing ending in Singapore. We are about to decide on their next trip. It’s said travel keeps your mind active, and that’s certainly true for this group!