Inspiring Stories

A love for hospitality

 Andreea was born in Brasov, a medieval city with narrow cobblestone streets, also known as the gateway into Transylvania. She studied German and English at the prestigious Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca. Before joining AMADEUS, Andreea had a 9 to 5 office job with plenty of repetitive tasks and with no possibility of career advancement. In 2004, she felt ready for a new career challenge and was excited to take the role of Receptionist to welcome guests from around the world on the AMADEUS vessels. Shortly after, she was promoted to Purser, and in 2008, after having acquired important itinerary knowledge, she pivoted to a new role of Cruise Director. „There is lot of creative freedom in exercising this role...
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From cargo ships to river cruise ships

With two shipping schools in Belgrade and Novi Sad, Serbia  offers many of the professional boatmen on the Danube river. Captain Jugoslav Bastijančić is one of our highly qualified nautical crew members from Serbia, having extensive knowledge of inland waterways, berthing and locks. Jugoslav was born in Bezdan, a Serbian village surrounded by seven arms of the Danube and a canal. The village is known for its silk textile factory in which large wooden looms are used to manufacture tablecloths just as they were 100 years ago. Bezdan also features a museum of underwater concrete and the "Bezdan" water lock. Starting with 2006, Jugoslav was already traveling independently on European rivers as Captain on cargo ships and tank vessels. In...
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A yearning to be on the waters

Certain people are born with a yearning to be on the waters. This is also the case of Captain Mihai Nistor, now First Captain of our AMADEUS Provence. For him, being on a river vessel is more than a career choice. That yearning is what launched Captain Mihai on waterways after finishing high school in 1996, and feeds his desire to venture out on the rivers today. The dream began in Galati, the largest Romanian port on the Danube River, situated close to the three-corner border between Moldova, Romania and Ukraine. Although no one in his family had a river-related job, Mihai chose a career on „a piece of steel“, as he puts it. After all, his home city Galati...
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From maritime officer to river captain

In today’s story, we invite you to learn more about Captain Gheorghe Butnariu, currently 2nd Captain of the AMADEUS Star. “Gigi”, as his friends and colleagues call him, was born in Constanța at the Black Sea, a city with a long tradition in educating maritime officers, marine engineers and sailors. After having worked in the largest shipyard in Romania in the Black Sea basin, Gheorghe continued his career on seagoing vessels. But the long distance to his family made Gigi want to change from ocean liners to river cruise vessels, even if that meant starting again on an entry-level position. In a very fast pace, he evolved his career from Sailor to Steuerman and from 3rd Captain to 2nd Captain....
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A lifetime career as Hotel Manager

With over 18 years in the company, Hotel Manager Tiberiu Varga was born in Romania in the Maramures region, in the city Sighetu Marmatiei, which is set amid beautiful rolling hills and farmland close to the Tisa River. The area is known for centuries-old traditions and ornamental wood-carving. His sister in law was already working on AMADEUS vessels as Cruise Director when Tiberiu decided to join as a Night Auditor on the AMADEUS Symphony. For this purpose, the first step was to learn German, as this was a necessary requirement. Once arrived on board, he was able to improve his German language skills and build speaking confidence. For him, working on board the ship was an adventure which implied an...
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