LGBTQ+ Cruise Ship Refused Entry To Egypt Days After Turkey Turned It Away

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.”

Kyle Olsen, the owner of Hermes Holidays, another LGBTQ+ tour company, said he believed that if Turkey had not refused entry to the ship this week, Egypt would not have issued its ban. “I worry that other countries are going to be emboldened in turn to ban gay cruises from their ports as well,” he said.

“This is a sad representation of the way the world is going. Successive governments are falling to rightwing groups and the rights of LGBT+ people are being taken away as a result across the globe.”