Viking Takes Delivery of Newest Douro River Cruise Ship

Image: Viking river ship on Douro River in Portugal. (Photo via Viking)
Image: Viking river ship on Douro River in Portugal. (Photo via Viking)
Lacey Pfalz
by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 1:00 PM ET, Sat August 30, 2025

Viking announced this week that it has taken delivery of its newest river ship, the purpose-built Viking Gyda, which will sail the Douro River in Portugal. 

A delivery ceremony was held at the West Sea shipyard in Viana do Castello, Portugal, where the river ship was constructed. 

The Viking Gyda sails its first departure on September 4, sailing the 10-day Portugal’s River of Gold itinerary, which takes travelers from Lisbon to beautiful destinations including Porto, Salamanca and more. 

“With its rich history, culture and winemaking traditions, Portugal continues to be a very appealing destination for our guests,” said Torstein Hagen, Chairman and CEO of Viking, “We are proud to welcome the Viking Gyda to our growing fleet of award-winning river ships, and we look forward to introducing more curious travelers to Portugal and its ‘River of Gold’ in the years to come.”

The ship is an identical sister ship to the four other Douro River ships, including the Viking Helgrim, Viking Hemming, Viking Osfrid and Viking Torgil. It can accommodate 106 guests across 53 staterooms. 

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Lacey Pfalz

Lacey Pfalz

Senior Editor, News & Features

Lacey Pfalz is Associate Editor at TravelPulse. She's a passionate advocate of responsible travel and believes the best travel experiences happen outside of a planned itinerary. Lacey currently lives in rural Wisconsin. She can be reached at [email protected].

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