Based on all I read, Ama seems to get great reviews. They are not the cheapest but overall they seem to do everything pretty well. Viking was going to be my backup, but again based on what I've read, there are a few others that would fit the bill too (i.e., Avalon). For budget friendly, Gate 1 came across my radar as well.
Never been to Europe. We love food, culture, museums and history. We also just want to immerse ourselves in the ports and speak with the people. What we were unsure about is the being bussed for 2 hours, then visiting the destination, only to be commuted back to the boat. I feel that time is limited so i want to make the most of it. I know there may be some excursions that are not close by, but in general, we wanted to step off the boat and explore the towns. If you said that Riquewihr was must see, I would probably take the trip out there 🙂
Thank you for the nugget on Vikings Payment Policy!
This is great stuff I appreciate everyone's comments.