I'm looking for input from anyone who has been on any of Rick Steve's tours. I did a quick look up as we're interested in going to Brussels, Bruges and Amsterdam and he has a tour that includes all of those. We generally just plan trips ourselves, but for something like this I'm wondering if a formal tour group might be the way to go.
TIA
We have used Rick Steves 3X, in this order: 1. Paris city, 2. Barcelona/Madrid and 3. Brussels, Bruges, Amsterdam. We enjoyed all 3, but enjoyed the Paris and the Barcelona/Madrid tours much more than the Brussels, Bruges, Amsterdam tour. The most significant variable was the guide's ability. On our first 2 tours, the guides were just fantastic. They were knowledge, enthusiastic about their jobs and outgoing. On the Brussels, Bruges Amsterdam tour, our guide was less experienced, less outgoing and less sure of himself. He was very professional and knowledgeable, but his inexperience showed. I will also say that I enjoyed this trip more than my wife, that was less interested in the countryside, WWI battlefield and the storm surge barrier visits than me.
When I looked at the description of the Brussels, Bruges Amsterdam tour recently, it appeared that the itinerary had changed somewhat since we went in 2012, which also might be an improvement, particularly since it looked like they eliminated the visit to a Dutch village re-creation, which we thought was a time waster, more suitable to a elementary school class trip than an adult experience. However, we had a trip to Toledo included that does not seem to be there any longer.
That said, generally, the tour was a good mix of planned activities and free time. The RS routine is to orient you to the location, so you can both experience the planned activities, then be off on your own, armed with enough local knowledge to do your own thing. I suggest that you also look at the recent review of your tour on the RS website. In my experience, they publish what they get. That is to say, they do not edit out the constructively critical reviews submitted by travelers.
I can try to answer more specific questions you might have if you want to PM me.