After Turkey, Egypt has now also cancelled a scheduled call by a fully chartered LGBTQ+ cruise. Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady was denied permission to call at Alexandria, forcing Atlantis Events and the cruise line to revise the itinerary for a second time.
The decision comes just days after Turkish authorities cancelled the ship’s planned visits to Kuşadası and Istanbul. As a result, the cruise has lost two major cultural destinations on its original itinerary from Athens to Venice (Trieste).
Letter Delivered to Passengers’ Cabins
The nearly 2,000 guests aboard Scarlet Lady learned about the change through an official letter delivered to their cabins. In the message, Atlantis Events CEO Rich Campbell explained that the ship had not received permission to enter Egyptian waters, making the scheduled call at Alexandria impossible.
According to Campbell, the decision came as a surprise. Atlantis Events sailed the same itinerary last year without any issues. Both the tour operator and Virgin Voyages worked until the last moment to secure approval for the port call, but Egypt’s decision ultimately remained unchanged.
No Official Explanation from Egypt
Unlike Turkey, Egypt has not issued an official explanation for its decision. Egyptian authorities have not commented on why Scarlet Lady was denied permission to call at Alexandria.
The timing is notable, however. Alexandria had only recently been added to the itinerary after Turkey refused the ship’s planned visits to Kuşadası and Istanbul. In its earlier decision, Turkish authorities explicitly cited the region’s “social structure and moral values” as the reason for denying the cruise access.
ALSO READ: Turkey Blocks LGBTQ+ Cruise From Calling at Kuşadası and Istanbul
Itinerary Revised Again
Scarlet Lady‘s original itinerary sailed from Athens via Mykonos, Kuşadası and a two-day stay in Istanbul before continuing to Trieste. After the Turkish ports were removed, Alexandria and Heraklion on Crete were added as replacement destinations.
That revised itinerary has now been changed once again. Instead of Alexandria, the ship will now call at Chania on Crete. The planned visit to Heraklion has been cancelled and replaced by an additional sea day.
The remaining Adriatic ports remain unchanged for now. Scarlet Lady is still scheduled to visit Kotor in Montenegro, followed by Dubrovnik and Zadar in Croatia, before ending the voyage in Trieste.
Guests who booked shore excursions in Egypt through Virgin Voyages will receive automatic refunds. A scheduled passport control procedure that was due to take place in Alexandria has also been cancelled.
An Unprecedented Situation for Atlantis Events
For Atlantis Events, the double itinerary change marks an unprecedented situation. The American travel company has organised LGBTQ+ cruises for 36 years and has regularly visited ports in both Turkey and Egypt over the past decades.
According to CEO Rich Campbell, this is the first time in the company’s history that an entire cruise has been denied entry because of the identity of its passengers. Atlantis Events has called at Turkish ports on numerous occasions in recent years, including as recently as 2025.
In his message to guests, Campbell said that Alexandria had been one of the highlights of the voyage for many passengers and that the company was deeply surprised by the decision.
Growing Concerns Within the LGBTQ+ Travel Industry
The consecutive refusals by Turkey and Egypt are raising questions within parts of the international LGBTQ+ travel industry about the future of similar cruises to destinations with more conservative social and political policies.
At the same time, travel experts stress that government decisions do not necessarily reflect the attitudes of local communities. Both Turkey and Egypt remain popular cruise destinations, renowned for their rich history, culture and world-famous landmarks.
For the cruise industry, the events also highlight the importance of clear agreements between cruise lines, tour operators and destination authorities before large international charter cruises are scheduled.
Images in this article are AI-generated.
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