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...

The Captain is perhaps the most important man on board! He steers the ship safely from port to port along Europe’s rivers, has the responsibility for the passengers and the entire crew and is the first contact person for all matters: being a Captain is a challenging but also interesting job. Q: Why did you decide to become captain? A: I’ve always enjoyed travelling and, even as a child, thought that the idea of exploring foreign cities and countries was something fascinating. I was always very aware that this job brings a great deal of responsibility with it – towards the guests, the crew and the environment, but it is something which I am happy to take on. The captain...

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...

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....