A Virgin Voyages cruise organized by Atlantis Events was supposed to make a couple of stops in Turkey on a cruise that’s taking place this upcoming week, only for government officials to block this on the grounds of “moral standards.” While it’s common for countries to have different laws surrounding what kind of sexual activity is allowed within its borders, blocking a cruise based on the general customer base is pretty unprecedented.
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Turkey blocks Atlantis Events cruise at the last minute
Atlantis Events organizes cruises primarily for LGBTQ+ travelers. The idea is that they essentially charter cruise ships, and then sell cabins to those who are fans of the Atlantis Events concept. Atlantis Events has a 10-night cruise departing on July 5, 2026, operated by the Scarlet Lady ship, belonging to Richard Branson’s Virgin Voyages brand. The cruise is expected to have 1,900 guests, with 1,100 being from the United States.
The cruise is departing from Athens and ending in Venice, and it was supposed to make stops in Turkey, Greece, and Croatia, before ending in Italy. In the case of Turkey, planned stops included a July 7 visit to Kusadasi, and a July 8 visit to Istanbul. However, that’s no longer in the cards.
Turkish authorities have reportedly blocked this cruise from visiting Turkey at the last minute, citing “moral standards” and “family values,” claiming that the ship was chartered by groups “known for behaviors incompatible with the fabric of our society and our moral values.” Turkey has of course been becoming increasingly more conservative under Erdogan.
In place of these two ports, the ship will instead dock in Alexandria, Egypt, for a day, with tours to Cairo available. If you look at any sort of an equality index, Egypt ranks even lower than Turkey, so that’s not exactly ideal. I must also say, describing the port as “Cairo (Alexandria)” strikes me as taking quite some liberties — that’s like saying “Miami (Port Canaveral).” Anyway, there will also be a stop in the port town of Heraklion, Greece, on the island of Crete.
Rich Campbell, the CEO of Atlantis Events, stated that this is the first time in 36 years that the company has been “actively told we may not berth here because of who we are.”
My take on this unprecedented cruise ship “blocking”
To state the obvious, I’m not a fan of Erdogan, but ideologically, this is exactly what you’d expect from his administration.
Let me also say that while I’m gay, based on my understanding of these Atlantis Events cruises (and how they’re marketed), this just isn’t up my alley. I’m not saying that from some place of internalized homophobia, or anything, but instead, I’m just an introvert, and I don’t particularly enjoy “events” (whatever form they may come in — that includes sporting events, inaugural flights, etc.).
All that being said, this is indeed pretty unprecedented. Countries across the globe have different laws for all kinds of things, ranging from selling chewing gum, to same sex activity, to free speech. Virtually all countries don’t have laws against “being” gay, since you can’t arrest someone for what they’re thinking.
For more conservative countries, the laws are generally against same sex activity, the way one expresses themselves, etc. Even Saudi Arabia’s tourism webpage claims that LGBT visitors are welcome:
Are LGBT visitors welcome to visit Saudi Arabia?
Everyone is welcome to visit Saudi Arabia and visitors are not asked to disclose such personal details.
That brings me to my take here — obviously I strongly disagree with Turkey’s current administration and many of the country’s laws, but I’m kind of surprised this hasn’t come up before. Why? Well, if the cruise ship docks in Turkey and is no longer in international waters, is that essentially the equivalent of a “private venue” in that country?
For example, if the vibe on the ship’s decks were similar to what you’d find in the promotional video above, I can see how government officials (who also like to crack down on private gay venues) would argue that violates their standards.
To be clear, I strongly disagree with their “standards,” and the things they crack down on. However, if you’re going to have issues with this kind of activity on the ground, then it seems rather consistent to also have a similar approach when there’s a ship that you know will have a similar vibe.
Bottom line
An Atlantis Events cruise operated by Virgin Voyages is embarking on a journey shortly, which was supposed to stop in Turkey, Greece, and Croatia, before ending in Italy. However, authorities in Turkey have blocked the cruise, citing “moral standards” and “family values.”
Obviously I very much disagree with their standards, but if you’re a country cracking down on anything gay (including private venues, banning pride, etc.), then I am not surprised to see this happening, even though it’s the first time in 36 years that Atlantis Events has experienced something like this.
Are you surprised to see Turkey taking the unprecedented action of banning this Atlantis Events cruise?
Didn't know about these cruises but from the ad video it seems like a typical western gay culture, which sometimes can be very toxic and sex oriented. It is almost like sending a message to young people that if you are gay, you must be nearly naked with amazing body and constantly drinking alcohol and partying.... And sadly I do see this trend among the gays in the US and many divas. I am sure...
Didn't know about these cruises but from the ad video it seems like a typical western gay culture, which sometimes can be very toxic and sex oriented. It is almost like sending a message to young people that if you are gay, you must be nearly naked with amazing body and constantly drinking alcohol and partying.... And sadly I do see this trend among the gays in the US and many divas. I am sure there are a lot of gays who are not like the ones on this video but the Western media almost never feature them at all....
It’s not “unprecedented”. The Caymans and Nevis have each blocked a gay cruise from docking before. Although the last instance was about 20 years ago.
Look, as a gay guy, let’s be real about these cruises: they are heavily centered around drugs and non-stop hookups. You can’t blame conservative societies for not wanting to embrace that as a moral standard—heck, a conservative American wouldn't want it in their town either.
We need to stop forcing our cultural norms on the rest of the world. Turkey has the right to decide what is morally acceptable on its own soil. If we...
Look, as a gay guy, let’s be real about these cruises: they are heavily centered around drugs and non-stop hookups. You can’t blame conservative societies for not wanting to embrace that as a moral standard—heck, a conservative American wouldn't want it in their town either.
We need to stop forcing our cultural norms on the rest of the world. Turkey has the right to decide what is morally acceptable on its own soil. If we don’t want people forcing their beliefs down our throats, we need to stop doing it to them.
I have to applaud Ben for his objective reporting, I didn't expect such neutrality (though maybe I should have).
I agree that it is unthincable to deny people based on their sexual prefferrences in the first world, however I can understand that the "cruise factor" combined with a less than tollerant country would lead to this. This is a country where Pride Parades are factually forbidden, and a ship full of LGBTQ+ would come darn close to that.
Local businesses, guides, restaurants, port workers, and communities in Turkey will lose the tourism revenue Atlantis' guests would have brought, but responsibility for that loss lies with the officials who chose exclusion over tourism. Atlantis should not return to Turkish ports while LGBTQ+ guests can be denied entry because of who they are. This is not a boycott of the Turkish people, but is a refusal to reward official discrimination. Atlantis' passengers should travel where...
Local businesses, guides, restaurants, port workers, and communities in Turkey will lose the tourism revenue Atlantis' guests would have brought, but responsibility for that loss lies with the officials who chose exclusion over tourism. Atlantis should not return to Turkish ports while LGBTQ+ guests can be denied entry because of who they are. This is not a boycott of the Turkish people, but is a refusal to reward official discrimination. Atlantis' passengers should travel where they are welcomed with dignity, safety, and equal respect, the same treatment any Turkish traveler would rightly expect abroad.
CJ, please be advised against judging other cultures and values as you do your own. It displays a lack of understanding of the reality of the mindset of some.
Rather than condemning the Turkish authorities, try to understand that perhaps they are preventing a potentially serious incident from occurring. Sometimes what looks to be the wrong decision might well prove to have been the wisest choice.
If dissenters of Turkiye's right to exclude only knew what goes on in FULL PUBLIC VIEW during some of these 'cruises', they'd quickly rethink their stance. I'm no prude, but it ain't pretty. So spare a thought for the underpaid and overworked Filipino cleaners and onboard medical staff. Come to think of it, spare a thought for the entire crew who have to witness......everything. Pattaya is like an Amish Sunday School compared to this. I'd...
If dissenters of Turkiye's right to exclude only knew what goes on in FULL PUBLIC VIEW during some of these 'cruises', they'd quickly rethink their stance. I'm no prude, but it ain't pretty. So spare a thought for the underpaid and overworked Filipino cleaners and onboard medical staff. Come to think of it, spare a thought for the entire crew who have to witness......everything. Pattaya is like an Amish Sunday School compared to this. I'd post to a link to some uncensored clips of previous cruises...but I'm pretty sure there's a rule in this blog against posting 'prawn'......But hey, 'Google' exists on your browser for a reason.
On the other hand…..
https://x.com/drhossamsamy65/status/2058288821536465301?s=46
The very same people with such mindset move en mass to the west, so please don’t be surprised if they ban in a few years everything incompatible with the fabric of their society and their moral values.
On this website, knowing many of the contributors are not heterosexual, this subject is difficult to address, sensitively. Suffice it to say that I am not surprised by the attitude taken by the Turkish authorities. The potential for something to go disastrously wrong cannot be overstated.
I am however a little surprised that the cruise organisers attempted to visit Turkey, a country which is apparently moving more towards Islamic than Western traditions of late. The...
On this website, knowing many of the contributors are not heterosexual, this subject is difficult to address, sensitively. Suffice it to say that I am not surprised by the attitude taken by the Turkish authorities. The potential for something to go disastrously wrong cannot be overstated.
I am however a little surprised that the cruise organisers attempted to visit Turkey, a country which is apparently moving more towards Islamic than Western traditions of late. The same might well be said about Egypt too of course.
Having such large numbers of U.S. citizens disembarking and openly displaying their preferences at this time, might not be best advised. No, the Turkish authorities might well be blessed with foresight rather than prejudice.
But Turkish Airlines is rated 5 stars here!
@ Julie -- I don't give airlines star ratings, just specific flight experiences. And my ratings are based on the quality of the experience, rather than the extent to which the airlines align with my own political beliefs. Those are conclusions people can draw for themselves. Otherwise I'd rate Air New Zealand and Norwegian economy five stars, and that doesn't seem very useful.
Turkey is gone, next Afghanistan.
Patti Lupone is on that ship !! They are just hypocrites and for that last 40 years have wanted to join the EU. Not even in Europe. Instead of just blocking it, the government has made homophobic and anti lgbtq comments.
Seems like a nonissue. Turkey exercised rights on who to admit within its border. May not be in agreement with one’s personal views, but the majority Turkish who support Erdogan and the Turkish government care little what outsiders think, and rightfully so. The only thing that seems unusual is how late into the planned voyage the Turkish constrain revoke the approval to dock.
Furthermore, I’m pretty sure the Turkish economy can sustain missing out on...
Seems like a nonissue. Turkey exercised rights on who to admit within its border. May not be in agreement with one’s personal views, but the majority Turkish who support Erdogan and the Turkish government care little what outsiders think, and rightfully so. The only thing that seems unusual is how late into the planned voyage the Turkish constrain revoke the approval to dock.
Furthermore, I’m pretty sure the Turkish economy can sustain missing out on one booze cruise.
The issue is referring to LGBTQ as immoral etc. MAGA would also support this, as do you. The sooner mango Mussolini has a myocardial infarction the better.
Picking Alexandria over Ashdod is just bonkers, considering that Turkey is a gay paradise compared to Egypt.
My social battery wouldn’t last half a day on an Atlantis cruise, but I’ve heard very good things from people who have gone.
Egypt is certainly an odd choice for a replacement port from a perspective of guest safety and comfort. In addition, as roughly the midway point in the voyage, the ship was likely due to receive supplies and/or fuel at Istanbul. If so, Türkiye is missing out on hundreds of thousands in additional revenue on top of not having visitors ashore.
Very unlikely that they would select Istanbul as place for receiving supplies or fuel. Everything is so much easier in EU. Athens, Barcelona etc have very well working infrastructure for those.
Also having Cairo/Alexandria is quite normal, as is Berlin/Rostock etc. There are often excursions to interesting places, that might require several hours of sitting in the bus.