Viking Gymir

The 2021-built Longship Viking Gymir cruises on the Rhine, Main, and Danube rivers, visiting destinations in Holland, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, Serbia, Croatia, Romania, and Bulgaria. The longship departs from homeports Amsterdam, Bucharest, and Budapest.

Unlike older sister ships, Gymir (delivered on March 25, 2021) features a hybrid propulsion system (a combination of 3 marine diesel engines and 2 batteries). The original longship design includes a total of 5 diesel engines (including 1 emergency generator and 1 auxiliary engine).

Viking Gymir (ENI number 7002150) is currently Switzerland-flagged (MMSI number 269057765) and registered in Basel.

This Viking longship is named after Gymir—in Norse mythology, the father of the goddess Gerdr (Freyr’s wife). From Old Norse, the name translates as "earthly" (gumi), "wintry" (gemla), and "engulfer" (geyma). Some scholars suggest that Gymir may have been a sea god similar to Aegir.

All Viking longships are fitted with solar panels (mounted aft on the Sun Deck) and hybrid (diesel-electric) powerplants based on energy-efficient marine engines.

Decks and Cabins

Viking Gymir has 95 staterooms (in 8 categories), including 9 Suites, 39 Balcony cabins, 22 French Balcony cabins, and 25 Porthole cabins (with non-opening windows). Longship Gymir has two aft-located Explorer Suites with wraparound balconies providing 270-degree scenic views. The seven Veranda Suites each feature two separate rooms and include a step-out balcony (accessed from the living room) and a French Balcony (in the bedroom). The 39 Veranda Staterooms have step-out balconies.

The boat has 4 decks (3 with cabins) and a maximum passenger capacity of 190. All guests are provided with complimentary modern hotel amenities and high-quality travel and leisure services.

Cabin Types/Categories (number, location), from highest to lowest:

• Suites - ES (Explorer, x2, Deck 3 aft), AA (Veranda, x7, Deck 3 portside)
• Balcony Staterooms - A (x20, Deck 3 starboard), B (x17, Deck 2 starboard)
• French Balcony Staterooms (with floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors) - C (x5, Deck 3 portside aft), D (x15, Deck 2 portside)
• Riverview Porthole Window / Standard Staterooms - E (x18, Deck 1 midship), F (x7, Deck 1 midship aft).

Shipboard facilities

The Observation Bar Lounge features floor-to-ceiling glass doors opening onto the Aquavit Terrace—an indoor-outdoor, bow-facing venue designed for relaxation and alfresco dining. The Sun Deck is served with food and beverages by the Aquavit Terrace staff and offers 360-degree unobstructed river views. This top deck includes a forward sundeck with Sky Bar (outdoor seating area with four-seat tables and deckchairs), SkyLight (glass roof over the Atrium), Wheelhouse (Navigation Bridge), a midship sundeck with shaded seating (covered by a large retractable awning and encircled by a walking track), a sunbathing area (with deckchairs and reclining loungers), and an aft sundeck with a Putting Green (mini-golf), Herb Garden (organic), and a deck games area (shuffleboard and giant outdoor chessboard).

Onboard dining options include the Gymir Restaurant (main dining room) and the Aquavit Terrace (Lido buffet with sliding glass doors opening onto the alfresco terrace). Other facilities include a 2-deck Atrium (lobby with 24-hour Reception Desk), Library (Internet Lounge), and Shop (gifts and souvenirs).

Viking Cruises longships do not have a fitness/gym room, swimming pool, Jacuzzi (outdoor whirlpool), spa/beauty salon, or self-service laundry facilities (laundromats). One elevator (passenger lift) connects only Decks 2 and 3. All decks are interconnected via stairs—forward (Grand Staircase in the Atrium), midship, and aft.

River Cruise Itineraries

The list of Viking Gymir river cruise itineraries has not yet been officially announced by Viking Cruises.

Viking Gymir cruise fares include Wi-Fi Internet, all tours and excursions, ground/bus transfers, live evening entertainment, daily lectures and media presentations, food and wine tastings, 24-hour coffee and tea, and replenished daily bottled water. Viking river cruise prices are per person and based on double occupancy. These rates are indicative and may vary depending on travel agency promotions, special offers and discounts, group bookings, or last-minute deals.

Transfers to/from the Viking Gymir and airport meet-and-greet services are included only when airfares are purchased through Viking Cruises (the company’s Viking Air package).

Viking Gymir is one of the last longships (65 total) built by Neptun Werft for Viking Cruises. This patented river cruise ship design allows for larger passenger accommodations without reducing public space or compromising overall onboard comfort. Longship Gymir represents Viking Cruises’ latest design, featuring energy-efficient hybrid engine technology, solar panels, and an interior developed by "Yran & Storbraaten" (Norway). The patented "longship" design (by "Rottet Studios", USA) enables much larger accommodations with full-size, step-out balconies. The additional cabin space is achieved by shifting the deck corridor approximately 1 m (3.3 ft) off-center.

The vessel's powerplant consists of two main Caterpillar marine diesel engines (model CAT32-ACERT, total power output 2 MW) plus two batteries. The engines are V12 (with 12 cylinders and pistons driving a crankshaft). The propulsion system is based on two Caterpillar marine propulsion engines (model CAT18-ACERT, combined output 2 MW), two Schottel bow thrusters (model SPJ 82RD, total power output 680 kW), and four double propellers (model Schottel STP 200).

Group christening 2022

On March 16, 2022, eight riverboats were officially named during a joint christening ceremony—four in Paris (Fjorgyn, Kari, Radgrid, Skaga) and four in Amsterdam (Hervor, Egdir, Gersemi, Gymir), linked via video.

• The four Seine River-based vessels (Fjorgyn, Kari, Radgrid, Skaga) are sister ships of shorter length. As part of a modified longship design (LOA 125 m / 410 ft), they were specifically built for Seine River navigation and homeporting at Pont de Grenelle (Paris City), meeting the dock’s maximum length requirement.
• The other four vessels (Hervor, Egdir, Gersemi, Gymir) follow the classic longship design (LOA 135 m / 440 ft).
• The group christening ceremony was attended by Torstein Hagen (Viking’s Chairman) in Amsterdam, onboard Viking Kari.
• During each dockside naming ceremony, the godmother delivered a speech and blessing for the vessel, followed by the traditional breaking of a bottle of Gammel Opland Aquavit (a herb-flavored spirit distilled from grain and potatoes, based on Oplandske Spritfabrik’s original 1872 recipe) against the hull.

The ships' godmothers are as follows:

• Viking Gymir - Alma Deutscher (violinist, pianist, composer, conductor, daughter of Janie Deutscher)
• Viking Egdir - Helen Deutscher (violinist, pianist, vocalist, daughter of Janie Deutscher)
• Viking Radgrid - Janie Deutscher (author, educator, musician)
• Viking Hervor - Brenda Hunsberger (AAA Club Alliance’s Senior VP of Travel Services)
• Viking Gersemi - Karryn Christopher (Signature Travel Network’s Executive VP of Preferred Partnerships & Marketing)
• Viking Fjorgyn - Ghislaine Wood (University of East Anglia’s Sainsbury Centre Deputy Director)
• Viking Skaga - Muriel Wilson (Virtuoso Ltd’s Director of Event Strategy & Sponsorships)
• Viking Kari - Kari Garmann (Norwegian politician, member of Oslo City Council 1979–1987, deputy representative to Norway’s Parliament from Oslo in 1985 and 1989).

Note: You can view CruiseMapper's list of all river cruise ships and riverboats in the "Itinerary" section of our River Cruises hub. All companies and their fleets are listed there.