Hotel Basel – lovely hotel!  It was quaint and charming.  They’d done a great job decorating for Christmas it looked so nice – very festive and welcoming.  The staff couldn’t have been nicer!  The location was perfect – just as you advised – right in the heart of the shopping district so we could easily get to the Christmas markets, and had the opportunity to browse in some charming shops along the way, and the lovely cathedral.  We found several good restaurants nearby, so meals were never a problem.  Even though we were only there an afternoon and until about 2:00 pm the following day, we were able to see a lot of the city at a leisurely pace!  I would most definitely recommend this hotel, and would stay there again.

Breisach – Riquewihr – Jana and I missed this city entirely – we were both sick that day – a combination of jet-lag, sleep-deprivation and maybe altitude sickness.  Houston is at sea level and suddenly we were in the mountains!  The staff on the ship couldn’t have been more helpful – they brought us carbonated water, toast and fruit and offered anything else that might make us feel better.

Strasbourg – we enjoyed the walking tour, the markets and the cathedral.  This one was interesting due to the heavily armed police presence.  That was both reassuring and a bit disconcerting, but due to a thwarted terrorist attempt the week before we were happy to see the police there.  There were some interesting shops there too but we ran out of time to visit them.

Heidelberg - the tour there was very interesting, but it was a really cold day and we were outside a long time at the castle – hearing a much too detailed history of the castle.  We would have preferred to be inside during that time, and maybe less history (about an hour’s worth lecture) and more time to walk through the castle.  Definitely interesting though!  Christmas market there was very nice.

Rudesheim  - this was one of my favorite places!  The city was charming, the Christmas markets very good and surprisingly Siegfried’s Music Museum was very interesting!  We all thought we’d give it a cursory walk through but were impressed with all the music machines – how old, intricate and amazing they were.  Also the house/museum was amazing in the details in it – the painted walls and ceilings – all very interesting!  We were all so glad we’d gone to this.  This was probably one of the two top Christmas markets, in my opinion.  I made several purchases here and saw a lot of really nice things that I would have loved to purchase, but there is only so much money and so much room in the suitcase!

Cologne – a tie for my most favorite city – with Rudesheim!  Loved the walking tour and the cathedral tour – although perhaps that went on a little too long.  For the most part it was quite interesting.  The Christmas Markets there were good, especially the one along the main road – father from the cathedral.  We spent so much time at the ones near the cathedral that we didn’t have much time for these, but thought they were the best in Cologne.

Amsterdam – I enjoyed the bus tour and the canal tour, but the location where we had approximately 1 hour to spend was not a good location at all.  The only shopping were stores that are found everywhere – Michael Kors, etc. so nothing unique and exciting.  I think this was my least favorite city –I’m glad I saw it but would never want to go back.  Too commercial – too many people and cyclists who have no regard for pedestrians.  We were warned about that – and walking was dangerous.  I did enjoy the information in the tours – especially the information on the architecture – all very interesting.

AmaCerto – absolutely loved the ship!  It was all decorated for Christmas – wreathes on every door – garland and trees everywhere – it was beautiful.  The room was very nice, spacious (for a ship) and lovely with the balcony.  Our housekeeper kept it very neat and clean.  The food onboard was very good I thought – lots of good choices at every meal and the service was outstanding.  We did the chef’s table dinner one night and really enjoyed that.  The evening entertainment was interesting, my only complaint about it was that sometimes the performer was too loud for the small lounge space, and audience.  The female singer with the accordion player was definitely too loud.  There was a tribute to Abba one night and that was a lot of fun – got the audience up and dancing!  The piano player was very good too!  I would have no complaints at all about the staff/crew of the ship – they were all very professional while also being friendly and fun – there was no request they wouldn’t take care of for you.  I would most definitely recommend the cruise line, and this ship to anyone.  If I should take another European river cruise it would definitely be with Ama Waterways