Rudi Schreiner
VANCOUVER — Cruise veterans Bill Smith and Rudi
Schreiner were inducted into the Cruise Lines International Association Hall of
Fame at a ceremony filled with travel agents attending CLIA’s Cruise360
convention here.
The two received Lifetime Achievement Awards for
being cruise advocates who make “remarkable positive contributions to the cruise
industry.”
Smith, who is retiring as the vice president of
cruise at Virtuoso this summer, has also been an executive at Crystal Cruises
and Silversea Cruises.
Schreiner co-founded AMA Waterways and is considered
one of the pioneers of the river cruise business.
Bill Smith
Hundreds of agents were on hand for the awards, which
were sandwiched between performances by entertainers from several cruise lines.
Other honorees included Chad Burt and Steve Muraca,
co-owners of Cruises & Tours Unlimited in Jacksonville, Fla., who received
the Travel Agency Innovator award, and Christine Brown of Expedia Cruise Ship
Centers Summerlin in Las Vegas, who snagged the Rising Star award.
Smith and Schreiner both received standing ovations.
Smith offered parting advice, saying, “Be in this business to make money but
more importantly, be in this business because you love it.”
He also told the audience to keep the cruise
industry growing. “If you screw it up, I’ll be back,” he said.