https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/09/lgbtq-cruise-ship-refused-entry-egypt-turkey
"An LGBTQ+ cruise ship blocked from Turkish waters this week has been refused
entry into Egypt.
The
Scarlet Lady’s 2,000 passengers, including the Broadway performer Patti
LuPone, woke on Thursday morning to find a note placed under their cabin doors
informing them that the ship was urgently looking for alternative ports.
“Early this morning, we were informed that
Scarlet Lady has been denied entry
into Egyptian waters, and, as a result, will no longer be able to call in
Alexandria today,” Rich Campbell, the chief executive of Atlantis Events, the
tour group that chartered the Virgin Voyages ship, told passengers.
“I know how much this visit meant to so many of you. We successfully sailed a
similar itinerary last year without issue. So we were surprised by this
unfortunate decision,” he wrote.
The note concluded: “Please know that both the Atlantis and Virgin Voyages
teams worked tirelessly to make this call in Alexandria a possibility. This
news came as a surprise to all of us, and we’re just as disappointed as you
are.”
The visit to Egypt was already a change to the planned tour, hastily arranged
after the ship was refused entry to Turkey. No official reason has yet been
given for the decision of the Egyptian government.
The 10-day Athens to Venice cruise was blocked from Turkey after authorities
published a statement online saying the cruise was chartered “by groups known
for behaviours that do not align with the structure of our society and our
moral values”.
The ship’s arrival had been cancelled after it “sparked significant public
concern”, they added. “There is absolutely no possibility of the group in
question visiting our province for an event of this nature.”
Randy Slovacek, who is on the cruise, wrote on his blog: “In the company’s
36-year history, Atlantis had never had a ship denied entry to dock. And now
it’s happened in two countries in one week.
“Trust and believe, me and my fellow passengers will be fine: if they don’t
want our tourism, we will sparkle and spend elsewhere. As my fellow blogger Joe
Jervis once wrote: ‘They wish we were invisible. We’re not. Let’s dance.’”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
