Our first RS tour was the My Way Alpine Tour. If it's not the same one you did, it was great. We have done 2 other RS tours. One was The Best of Paris, so no bus. The other was Eastern France, with a bus so I understand what you mean about the commentary.
On the Alpine tour, our tour manager always gave lots of information to the group on the buses. We traveled to 5 different countries, so we got the language formalities, the common customs, the local flavor, etc. In addition, she came to each group on the bus before we arrived at a destination to see if we had plans, questions, etc. Each morning after breakfast, she had "Office Hours" to help anyone who needed it.
When we arrived at a destination, she always led an optional walking tour of the area a little while after our arrival.
To build camaraderie, there were two optional Happy Hours, and an optional group dinner on the third or fourth night, plus the optional farewell dinner. (Dinners were at your own expense, but very reasonable.) There were one or two couples who kept to themselves, but we often met others for dinner or a hike, and people were happy to interact. There were many couples, but also groups of 3 sisters, 2 sisters, a father and daughter, a couple and a sister, and a single. The daughter was there as a high school graduation present and when she did things like hang-gliding in the Swiss Alps and the luge ride in Germany, we all lived vicariously through her.
Most people had done their planning ahead of time ("You have the freedom and the responsibility to plan your own time.") But those who had not, got plenty of help from our manager.
We would be happy to do another My Way tour, if it meets our needs, and if we can ever travel again.
