Two countries refused to let a cruise ship dock this month, and by today, 15 July, its 2,000 passengers finish their voyage in Trieste after a scramble to find ports that would take them.
If you are booking a Mediterranean cruise, or an LGBTQ+ sailing specifically, what happened to the Scarlet Lady is worth understanding before you pay a deposit.
Turkey banned the ship on 28 June. Egypt refused it on 9 July. In 36 years of running these cruises, the operator had never been turned away before.
The Key Facts
- Around 1,900 passengers aboard, roughly 1,100 American, plus British, Canadian and Australian travellers
- Turkey cancelled the stops on 28 June, a week before the ship even sailed from Athens on 5 July
- Egypt refused entry on 9 July, hours before the replacement call at Alexandria, with no reason given
- Rerouted to Crete, Kotor, Dubrovnik and Zadar, ending in Trieste on 15 July
- No refund or compensation applies, as cruise contracts let operators change ports at their discretion
What Happened, Day by Day
The Scarlet Lady is a Virgin Voyages ship. For this trip it was chartered by Atlantis Events, a company that has run LGBTQ+ cruises since 1991.
The 10-night “Athens to Venice” sailing was booked to call at Kusadasi and Istanbul in Turkey, alongside Greek and Croatian ports.
On 28 June, a week before departure, authorities in Turkey’s Aydin province cancelled both Turkish stops. They said the charter was run by groups whose behaviour did not match local “moral values.”
Atlantis replaced the Turkish ports with Alexandria, Egypt, and Crete. The ship left Athens as planned on 5 July.
Then on 9 July, hours before the ship was due in Alexandria, passengers were told through the Virgin Voyages app that Egypt had also refused entry.
Atlantis chief executive Rich Campbell said the company had run a similar route in 2025 without any problem, and had full approval before the last-minute reversal.
Turkey stated its reason publicly. Egypt has not. As of today, no Egyptian official has explained the refusal to any news outlet that has asked.
What People Are Saying
The bans drew reaction from passengers, the cruise community and the Turkish government itself.
The post confirmed the 7 July port call was cancelled, saying the charter did not fit the “structure of our society and our moral values.”
Basın açıklaması: Aydın Kuşadası Limanına planlanan kruvaziyer gemisi organizasyonu iptal edilmiştir.
— T.C. Aydın Valiliği (@AydinValiligi) June 28, 2026
They noted the ships had called at these ports for years without problems, and that fresh refusals suggested attitudes were hardening.
Comment from r/entertainment
by u/realblush in r/entertainment
She said she was furious but would keep sailing, and was ready to perform for the passengers regardless of the changed route.
What This Means If You Are Booking
This was the first time in 36 years that an Atlantis charter had been blocked over who its passengers were. That is the headline worth holding on to.
A long track record at a port is not a guarantee. Both Turkey and Egypt had welcomed these sailings before, and both changed course within a single week in 2026.
- Check the operator’s recent history at each named port, not just the destination’s general reputation, since local politics can shift between one season and the next.
- Read the itinerary-change clause before you book. Cruise contracts generally let operators drop or swap ports with no refund attached.
- Choose insurance that covers disruption, not only cancellation, as a missed port on its own rarely triggers a standard claim.
- Read FCDO advice for every country on the route, not just your final stop, and re-check it close to departure.
On money, there is little to claim. Cruise ticket contracts typically allow operators to cancel or substitute ports without penalty, and missed stops rarely support a compensation case.
Passengers on this sailing are not owed a refund for the changed route. Atlantis has said it hopes to return to both countries in future.
The voyage ends in Trieste today, 15 July, after replacement calls at Crete, Kotor, Dubrovnik and Zadar filled the gap left by the two bans.
