We booked a Viking River cruise for August 2021. Viking's covid policies, as described on their website, require vaccinations, masks, and frequent testing. Fine and understandable. The itinerary for this trip describes multiple instances of free time to independently explore the various ports along the cruise route. Independent exploration is absolutely essential to us, and a material term of our booking agreement. The four of us are experienced independent travelers, and our plan was for the four of us to explore together, mostly independently. Viking offers some included port tours, and I asked if it would be permissible to leave a group tour if we chose to take one. I had concerns my parents, particularly my father, would not be able to keep up with a group. The booking agent assured me that, not only would it be acceptable to leave after starting a group tour, but "Viking encourages that kind of behavior." Our excitement about this trip ended when we happened to learn, three weeks before departure, of complaints that Viking was not letting passengers disembark at ports unless they were part of Viking-sponsored group tours. That is completely unacceptable, and contrary to Viking's explicit promises. I called customer relations to ask about that policy, and the person who took my call was unaware of it. After placing me on hold, however, he confirmed that Viking did seem to have such a policy, but there was no one on duty at that time who could address my concerns. I thereafter made several calls and sent several emails to Viking with my concerns. My booking agent's supervisor finally called and said she had listened to the call with my booking agent, so she is aware that he told me we would be "encouraged" to independently leave a group tour if we wanted or needed to. Despite Viking's explicit promises, on its website and through its agent, that we would be free to independently explore at each port, Viking insists that our remedy is limited to a travel voucher. I understand that Viking is having a difficult time because of covid, but that does not excuse deliberate, fraudulent misrepresentations. Before learning of this fraud, we booked a second trip with Viking, for next summer. We cannot apply a travel voucher from the cancelled trip to next summer's trip without losing the benefit of a cancellation policy that currently applies to that booking. Viking customer relations basically says "tough luck." Viking seemingly does not care about its customers or its reputation. Why would anybody pay to take a cruise that confines passengers to a boat except while on Viking-approved group tours? Why would anyone travel with a company that makes fraudulent representations? We would not have booked this trip, or our trip for next summer, had Viking been honest about its intentions. Viking fraudulently procured our booking and is refusing to address its actions.