What is it really like to attend the christening of a brand-new river ship, and discover a fantastic new cruise line along the way? On this episode of Luxury Cruising, Dr. Krystal Sodaitis welcomes travel advisor Michelle McSorley, who shares her firsthand experience at the christening of AmaWaterways’ newest ship, the AmaSofia, during the 5th Annual ASTA River Cruise Expo in Amsterdam. From the emotional ceremony and rainbow moment to touring multiple river ships, this is an insider’s look at the exciting growth happening in river cruising.
Dr. Krystal Sodaitis sits down with Michelle McSorley of Nova Luxury Travels to explore the vibrant world of river cruising through the lens of the 2026 ASTA River Cruise Expo in Amsterdam. Michelle was lucky enough to attend the festive christening of AmaWaterways’ newest vessel, the AmaSofia, and shares the celebratory energy, speeches, drone show, and heartfelt quote from the godmother.
The conversation dives deep into what makes river cruising special, smooth sailing, beautiful scenery, smaller ships, and outstanding service, while highlighting standout experiences aboard AmaWaterways and the lesser-known but impressive German line VIVA Cruises. Michelle details her stay on the VIVA Enjoy, including its airy design, all-inclusive offerings, delicious dining, and warm international crew. She also discusses exciting new developments, such as Celebrity River Cruises launching in 2027 and VIVA’s upcoming boutique ship.
Listeners will walk away inspired by the variety of options in river cruising, practical insights for choosing the right line, and Michelle’s personal definition of luxury as effortless, worry-free travel.
Episode Highlights:
About the Guest:
Michelle McSorley is a Concierge Travel Advisor and Certified Travel Associate (CTA) who, alongside her husband Kevin, owns NoVA Luxury Travels, a Favorite Grampy Travels affiliate. A lifelong traveler who explored Europe and Australia as a child, Michelle is passionate about crafting personalized experiences for her clients — from land adventures to sea. Cruising holds a special place in her heart: she has sailed to Alaska, Hawaii, and the Caribbean with her family, and Mediterranean, Iceland, and British Isles voyages are on the horizon. She and Kevin are already counting down to a Christmas markets cruise on the Danube following the 2027 launch of Celebrity's river cruise line.
NoVA Luxury Travels, An Affiliate of Favorite Grampy Travels
Email: NoVALuxury@FavoriteGrampyTravels.com
Phone: (703) 966-3587
Website: https://NoVALuxuryTravels.com
FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/MichelleKevFGLT
FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CruiseFoodAndDrinksSociety
About the Host:
Dr. Krystal Sodaitis is a pediatrician, executive, and life coach for neurodiverse physicians—and the passionate host behind Luxury Cruising. She brings expert insight and honest excitement to every interview, helping curious travelers elevate their adventures at sea.
📍 Website: luxurycruising.net
📧 Email: luxurycruisingpodcast@gmail.com
🔗 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/krystalsodaitis
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[00:00:00] Welcome back to Luxury Cruising. I'm your host, Dr. Krystal Sodaitis, and we've got something really special. This week, Michelle is here and she was privileged enough to be on the christening of a brand new Rivership, the Amma Sophia. We've had many episodes about Amma waterways, and so Amma just launched a brand new ship, and Michelle is here to tell us.
All about that experience. Michelle, please tell the audience anything you would like them to know about you. Thanks Crystal. Uh, yes. My name is Michelle McSorley and with my husband Kevin. We own Nova Luxury Travels, which is an affiliate of favorite grampy travels, and we are avid cruisers. Um, we love.
Ocean River Expedition. talking about them cruising ourselves, helping other families cruise. And so it was quite the privilege to be able to [00:01:00] participate in a river cruise christening, uh, something that I never thought I would get to do, but that was over in Amsterdam. Wow. Very cool. So take us back.
How did you even get the opportunity to be at the christening? So the christening was the big finale to an industry event. It was the American Society of Travel Advisors or asta, their fifth annual River Cruise Expo. So it was an opportunity to see . A dozen different cruise lines, learn about their brands, um, be able to tour 16 different river ships and then have this amazing, finale event of the christening.
That sounds really awesome . So, I wanna hear all about the different river ships, but before we do, tell us about the christening. What was that event like? So it [00:02:00] was a huge party and there was entertainment, um, there were singers and, it was like a little mini concert to begin with, which I was not expecting.
When you think of a christening, you know that there's the bottle of the champagne and it swings and hits the ship, but it was so much more than that. Everyone was so excited. You could feel it. All the attendees and the speakers. The alma waterways, first ship that was christened was 20 years ago, so this was, uh, a nice anniversary for them.
but after the entertainment and the festivities, then there were some speeches. And, um, a couple of the Amma executives were there. there was CEO Catherine Powell. when she was speaking, there was actually a rainbow that came overhead. It was so picture perfect. Um, that sounds like a Hollywood movie set, but it really happened.
Wow. And Kristen Karst, one of the [00:03:00] co-founders and now the brand ambassador was there. And, um, finally there was, an Asta representative, the SVP of business development, Sarah Little, she was our mama, Sophia Godmother. So it was really special as a travel advisor to have her there. And, um, I actually have a quote.
Something she said, which I thought was very special for all cruisers that they would appreciate. Uh, she said Tonight as we celebrate Amma Sophia, I'm reminded that rivers are powerful. Not because they rush, but because they keep moving forward. Curious about what lies beyond the next bend. May we all keep moving forward.
May we stay curious and may Amma Sophia carry that spirit of discovery for many years to come. So it was such a celebratory moment, um, just about adventure and, looking forward and seeing what next adventures lie ahead, which is so exciting for [00:04:00] river cruising in particular. you know, the destinations are such a highlight and there's so much to see out there.
Yeah. I love that quote. Yeah. That's beautiful. Did you get to see much of the ship, the interior of Amma, Sophia? Oh yes. We tour it. Um, I actually met. Godmother, Sarah Little while we were touring. the rooms are beautiful. As your listeners probably know from past almost waterways, talks. They have a double balcony feature where they have the French balcony and a more traditional balcony where you can sit out on many of the rooms.
So that's great to have. fantastic guys. Explain that. can you explain like, how does that work? Because like when I think in the French balcony, yeah. I think it's kind of like a French door, like a big giant window that opens up and you've got just sort of like a rail that's protecting you from going overboard.
And then is there a separate entrance where you can go outside to another balcony? How [00:05:00] exactly does that work? Yes. So the ones that I saw It was in a suite configuration, so there was the French balcony portion by the main bed, and then the sitting area was kind of off to the side and it had the separate actual walkout sit on balcony.
So it was quite large and luxurious in those rooms to have two balconies on the sitting area. So sometimes folks think of river cruises as these tiny rooms that you're stuck on, but they have. Really out on themselves with some of these setups.
That's beautiful. What was the decor like of the Amma Sophia? So it's interesting that you asked that because they've just done a brand refresh and they have this new vivace red color that's this vibrant red. and so it's.
Very bright, uh, very bold and, it felt [00:06:00] exciting.
Cool. That's awesome. What, did they point out sort of anytime there's a new ship, sometimes there are some changes. there are some upgrades, new venues. Is there anything different on the Amfi than maybe, um, some of the other alma waterway ships, or are they all basically just carbon copies of each other?
Not exactly carbon copies. Uh, there were some upgrades of the different paint tones, warmer tones. Um, that's going to be fleet wide though. they rolled that out just this year for the Sophia. And then they also have updated linens, new Bath amenities. so those things are not going to be exclusive to the am It was just that this was an opportunity to introduce those things.
Um, but it is a pretty standard layout. All River cruise ships kind of have a limitation on how much they can do that's [00:07:00] different. but the, on the Waterways brand, what is fun about them is that on their holiday cruises, they'll actually decorate for the holiday. So we saw three different Amma ships.
One was decorated for Easter, one was decorated for Christmas, and then they left the Amma Sophia to be in. Natural state. Fun. That sounds fun. It definitely was. The staff was so warm and friendly and you could tell they were really excited too.
That's awesome. I love that. so where did you stay? Did you stay on the am Sophia? I did not. I stayed at one of the other ships, completely different brand. It was the Viva and Joy. And I'm guessing that not a lot of people have heard about Viva because it was just founded in 2018.
Oh, no. So tell us, so Viva is the cruise line. Yes, Viva's the cruise line and their slogan is Enjoy the Moment. [00:08:00] And they enjoy. The ship that I was on was not their first one, but they're calling it their flagship. Um, it is Right and Airy. They use a lot of blues on their ship. So very different from Amma.
Um, they are, a global. Rand in that they attract a variety of cruisers from different countries. They're actually headquartered in Germany, so 35% of their guests are German and therefore they do make announcements in both German and English. Um, so that's something that might be a little bit different for cruisers of other lines who are used to just English speaking.
Um. So that is something that's unique about Veeva.
So tell us about, the ship, the layout, the decor. what was the ship [00:09:00] like? The ship was beautiful. like I said, when you first walk in, it felt very open because they have this two story atrium. and they, Very welcoming from the start. We went right into our room, which was a sweet setup. Uh, there was a butler that came, dropped off some champagne for us and little snacks.
Um, so it was a great start. We did have a French balcony in our room, and then on the ship they do have a small pool up top. They have three different restaurants. One is the traditional dining room. They also had a more casual bistro and then an Italian themed restaurant. And I was able to eat at two of those.
Um, they served us in the main dining room, their signature gala dinner, which is a five course meal. Uh, they do that once a cruise for all guests, and I thought the food was delicious. [00:10:00] They had multiple choices. So if you have somebody who's particular, as sometimes I can be, they're very accommodating on the spot.
You would ask them, you know, I don't eat seafood, and they would offer something else. So that was great to have that flexibility. And then they had a lovely lounge area as. Cruise ships tend to have, in the evening, they had fantastic entertainment. They had an amazing singer duo. they had a guitarist, I don't know if it's probably more unusual, but on the last night they did have a band for us.
But usually it's a little more intimate. Yeah. Did you specifically book a suite or is it an all suite ship? I specifically booked it. It is not all suites. They don't have that many. Um, but they are developing a boutique ship that will debut this May [00:11:00] in Paris, and that is going to be, half of the ship is sweets for that one and it's.
More intimate. They only have 112 guests coming for that one. Uh, as opposed to, I think it's like 50 on the enjoy. So they do have options for more suites. Wow. I gotta back up because like for people who aren't watching, I don't know if they saw, like when you mentioned a new cruise line that I never heard of, I like had to sit up because I'm like, whoa, whoa, I gotta hear more about this.
So this is Veeva is the name of the cruise line, German based. They have how many ships? I don't recall exactly how many ships they have right now, but I know that in the next decade they're hoping to get to 15. That's their target number. They don't want to grow too large. Uh, they really want to focus on maintaining their service excellence.
But yes. Well, Germans are known for excellent service. That is for [00:12:00] sure. So they've got a handful of ships. Yes. And where would you put the ships is it more like towards Alma waterways, more towards like the clean lines of Biking, is it more like a, Riverside that is very like modern luxury?
Where would you put them in terms of their vibe, culture, even price point? Yes. So price point was interesting. I walked on and I felt like it was more elevated than it's priced. Um, I have a. starting price of $2,800 per person for seven nights, which I think is a phenomenal value for what I saw and Experience River.
That's fantastic. Yes. Yes, exactly. so they focus on having amazing value for the price, and I saw that firsthand. I completely agree with that. Viking is a [00:13:00] more traditional line. They are well established and all of their ships have that consistent, you know, Nordic feel. And the red color. This is blues and topes and openness.
they are all inclusive, which is again amazing for the price. So they have the wifi included your beverages, including cocktails and wine and beer. Um, the gratuities are included. They offer one excursion per stop. now that's one area though that I noticed could be expanded because AMA also is all inclusive and offers their excursions, but they will give you choices .
Whereas Veeva, it's one excursion at each stop. So it's a little limited in that way, but they are looking to expand as they grow. and again, for that introductory at that [00:14:00] price point, I'm okay with only one choice. Right? Yeah. Yep. Absolutely. and what rivers are they, do you know offhand what rivers?
I know, I'm like quizzing you right now. I'm doing the travel agent quiz 'cause I'm so excited about this new line that I had never heard of before. So, do you know which river they're on? Yes. Well they are European only. So they do not consider themselves a global line. Talks about three different continents and, they know what they do well and they are happy to stick in their lane of just Europe.
So, Ryan, Dan, I think one of their new boutique ships is going to be outta Venice. So they, think of all the different European destinations. If you enjoy those, want to go there, then Veeva will likely be there. Awesome. And so now, will the boutique line also be [00:15:00] under the Veeva brand or will it be a different brand?
I believe it's still Viva. it might be like Viva Boutique. Um, they're just getting started with that one, so we didn't have full information. But that one sounds very, uh, appealing besides having half of the ship, with sweets. There's going to be three restaurants there, and they said that one of them will be Michelin style dining experience.
So I'd love to see what that's all about. Yeah. And can you tell me again when's the anticipated launch? Uh, this May in Paris for their first boutique ship. Wow. That one's definitely going on my list, at least on my radar to start, you know, listening out for more information about it. so, wow.
Thanks for that. That was awesome. Yeah. Yeah. And you got to sail on them. And did anything else stand out about sailing on, um, the Viva and Joy. Yep. anything else ? Stand out. I would say the [00:16:00] service, all of the staff, the crew, we got to know some of them really well just in four days.
And we always felt like we were going home. Um, they would recognize us, greet us personally. And on the last night we took, some photos with some of the servers. So I think that often will really make a trip special is when you can connect with the people. Um, not only the crew, but we also saw the same guests over and over and dined with them.
And, um, that's always a special experience. Absolutely. I love that. Awesome. So, Now the reason you were there was for the Asta Expo. So hopefully all the listeners are, as enthralled with all things cruising as I am, um, and really wanna know about the Asta Expo and what you do, what it's about.
give us an insight. Peak to the expo? Sure. [00:17:00] Well it was, like I said, not just an opportunity to learn about the brands, but experience them. And it's so different from hearing about something to actually being there and dining in a restaurant and meeting the crew. there are brand executives who can tell you.
That their ships feel a certain way, but it's special to be able to experience it yourself. So that's what made the expo, such a great experience that we did have plenty of educational sessions where we had a couple general sessions learned about river cruising in general, trends in the market and what's ahead for all of our guests.
Uh, so there was, in particular a talk on celebrity river cruises, so I'm sure everybody's familiar with the ocean cruises, but coming up next year, they're debuting their river cruise ships and [00:18:00] they're having phenomenal success already in selling those. So it was just, uh, opportunities like that to hear about new brands, new opportunities for guests.
I got super excited and now I can share that with my clients as well. So the educational sessions, shift tours, we got to dine on so many different ships as well. the entertainment each night. And then, actually one thing I forgot to tell you earlier with the christening was that after the christening itself, they had a drone show at night, so they had music playing.
We watched it from, um, the third deck on top of the Amma Sophia. And it was beautiful. It was such a great ending to the full event. Um, I'm not sure if that's normal for a christening for a rivership, but I'm glad I got to experience [00:19:00] it. Yeah, that sounds so cool. Wow. So any, like standout or like pieces of, information that you got that you think it's really valuable, for cruisers to know?
I think they're going to see a lot of new opportunities for river cruising. There are so many ships being built right now. We mentioned that Viva's new, they're trying to attract more North American customers, um, celebrities coming out next year, you're going to have more opportunities for choice in itineraries and just whatever.
Vibe you want to feel when you are cruising along a river. There is definitely going to be a ship out there. So if you're not so familiar with river cruising and you maybe have an idea of what it is and maybe you think it's stuffy, um, maybe you think the rooms are tiny, I would just [00:20:00] say keep an open mind because there are so many different options out there.
I really think that, yeah, we can find something for everybody if you're open to it. I totally agree. And for so many people who I talk to about cruising who are like, I have a fear of the open water, or I get, you know, seasick really easily, I always talk to them about.
River cruising because you're always seeing land. The water is rarely anything but smooth. There's rarely any movement. Um, and there's much fewer people, for people who just don't like the idea of being on a ship with, you know, five, 6,000 people. So it's really a good option for a lot of people.
Absolutely. Yes. I suffer from some motion sickness, so ocean cruising can be a little dicey sometimes, but the river cruising is very smooth. Perfect. So because you mentioned you got to tour some of the ships,
Of the ships that you saw, did any of them [00:21:00] stand out for any reason at all? So the reason I chose Veeva to stay aboard, uh, during the expo was because I was not familiar with them. So that was a very pleasant surprise to see, um, that they are such a quality line at their price point. So that one was great.
I loved the Amma Sophia. Of course, I think there's something a little sentimental about that one for me. Um, the Riverside Debussy was there, and that's always a fun line. Festive atmosphere in their great service as well. They were all so wonderful. you can't go wrong. we saw Uniworld talk, scenic Viking.
They were all there. I think the one that I'm most excited about now though is seeing celebrity. Their ship obviously is not finished being built, but very, very excited to tour that one when it [00:22:00] is available . And actually, um, yeah, my husband and I, we have a river cruise planned on celebrity for one of their Christmas market cruises.
So I will definitely get on board. Oh. Um, for that.
That sounds amazing. Yeah. I've seen the renderings of the ship and they look absolutely gorgeous. So, yeah, I would love to get, plus all My Crown anchor society, my loyalty level will transfer over to celebrity. So that's another bonus. That is a bonus. That's a plus for sure.
They do want to bring that ocean cruise luxury that they're known for, to river cruising, and they talked about the different experiences that they'll have on board. And bringing the destinations into the ships. And, um, there's different programs that they have planned, so they're going to burst into the market in a big way next year.
Um, we talked about the [00:23:00] limited growth with Viva, that they are strategic and only wanting 15 total ships in the next decade, but celebrity wants to expand and get to 20. Um, and in the same amount of time, so different strategies. it'll be interesting to see, but that's exciting for us cruisers that we have all these options out there.
And different atmospheres, different vibes, Different itineraries. Um, and that's why this expo was so important to me to be able to experience it myself, to know firsthand, what to suggest to others.
Yeah, I agree. I mean, it's a really exciting time to be a cruiser. I can't wait to see what the future brings and you know, what the future builds are. So, Michelle, I wanna step away from this particular trip and ask you some questions that I ask everybody. [00:24:00] And the first is, how do you define luxury?
How I define luxury would be at more of a service level. So when somebody thinks about luxury, you might think five star accommodations and butlers and suits and um. I think more about not having to worry about anything. with our travel agency of Nova Luxury travels, that's what we really stress to our guests is that tell us what you want and we will make it happen, and you can just enjoy.
So that's what I think true luxury is having someone give you a dream trip. And not have to work for it. Yeah. I love that. Did the experience on the Viva for you meet that definition of luxury for you? [00:25:00] It did. Like I said, we came in, the first thing that they did when we walked in our suite was bring a champagne.
We didn't ask for it. They just knew that it would make our experience special and everything was just taken care of, um, automatically. So that effortlessness and, feeling spoiled . Yes. Feeling spoiled. I love that. Do you have a dream cruise? Oh gosh. So that celebrity Christmas markets cruise is my dream river cruise, but I would say a world cruise.
What could be better than seeing so many destinations at one time? Um. I have a lot of dream cruises. Well, that's mine. Like a world cruise or one of many world cruises is definitely my dream cruise to spend, you know, several months circumnavigating the earth on a cruise ship. [00:26:00] especially on a luxury cruise ship.
Oh yeah. Yep. So, yeah, I'm a hundred percent with you on that one. Do you have any trips planned? luxury cruise or otherwise? Yes. So we have several cruises coming up, this year, and one of them is the inaugural for Royal Caribbean's, legend of the Seas. We'll be staying in one of their suites, taking the kids along.
So definitely we'll be spoiled on that one. And then we're also taking a cruise in August in Iceland. And fingers crossed, we're hoping to see the solar eclipse. That is why we loved that one. Beautiful. Besides its fantastic itinerary around Iceland, that would be a huge bonus. Which ship is that? That is the Star.
Celestial princesses. I think it's the star. it's a smaller ship, but that's what's [00:27:00] over in Iceland, that sounds beautiful. A suite for that one too. So I'd be happy to come back and talk to you about that one and hopefully show you some amazing pictures. Yes,
I would absolutely love that. Um, both an inaugural, and a solar eclipse cruise sound amazing. And you are absolutely welcome. Anytime. Um, if any of the listeners maybe wanna join you on one of those cruises or wanna book a river cruise, wanna hear about river cruising, how do they get in touch with you?
Absolutely. And by the way, those two cruises that I just mentioned, I do believe they still have some cabins available so we can get you on board. Um, you can find me over at Nova Luxury travels with an s com and I will pass along all of my information to Crystal so she'll have that available.
Absolutely. We'll put those in the show notes. Michelle, thank you again so much for being here and for the listeners. Thank you. I appreciate you as well, and until [00:28:00] next time, I wish you safe and luxurious cruising.