Turkish authorities have blocked a chartered LGBT cruise from docking at two of the country’s ports, citing “moral values” — a decision affecting roughly 1,900 passengers aboard Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady.
The ship, chartered by US-based operator Atlantis Events for a 10-night Mediterranean sailing from Athens to Venice, had been due to call at Kuşadası on 7 July before spending two days in Istanbul.
Instead, the provincial government of Aydın — which includes Kuşadası — announced on its official social media account that the visit had been cancelled, describing those aboard as a group known for behaviour it said was incompatible with the structure and moral values of Turkish society.
Atlantis has confirmed the change on its own website, reworking the itinerary to add a full day at Alexandria in Egypt, with tours to Cairo, and a day at Heraklion on Crete, while keeping the voyage’s remaining calls — Mykonos, Santorini, Dubrovnik and Zadar — intact.
‘The ship looks like any other ship’
Atlantis Events chief executive Rich Campbell said the company had brought travellers to Turkey more than a dozen times over some 25 years without incident, and that despite intervention from the US Embassy the decision could not be reversed.
He said it was the first time in the company’s history it had been told a ship could not dock “because of who we are.”
Campbell estimated the ban would cost Turkey at least $1 million in lost tourism spending, and warned that a tourism economy which starts “picking and choosing” its visitors risks alienating far more of them.
Of the roughly 1,900 passengers, about 1,100 are American, with others travelling from the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and elsewhere.
Broadway performer Patti LuPone, who is due to perform on board, reacted publicly to the news, writing that she was “furious, but I am sailing” as the ship continues to its other ports.
Why it matters for UK cruisers
Though this was a US-organised charter, the story lands close to home. Virgin Voyages is a British-founded brand — part of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group — and Scarlet Lady has sailed from Portsmouth in the past, with UK travellers among those affected here.
Beyond the specifics, the episode raises a practical question that matters to LGBTQ+ cruisers everywhere: how confident can they be of a welcome in every port an itinerary lists?
Cruise lines rarely have control over a government’s admission decisions, and a blocked call — whatever its cause — means missed excursions and reworked plans for everyone aboard.
For now, Atlantis says it hopes to return to Turkey in future; the passengers, meanwhile, sail on. Update, 10 July: Scarlet Lady has since been denied entry to Egypt as well, losing the replacement Alexandria call — our follow-up coverage has the latest.
