Several days ago, I covered how a Virgin Voyages cruise organized by Atlantis Events was supposed to make a couple of stops in Turkey, only for government officials to block this on the grounds of “moral standards.” So the organizers replaced the Turkey stops with a stop in Egypt. Want to guess how that ended? Well, arguably even worse than the Turkey stop… and I can’t say I’m surprised.
In this post:
Egypt blocks Virgin Voyages Atlantis Events cruise
On the morning of July 9, 2026, Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady was supposed to dock in Alexandria, Egypt, at around 7AM. Well, The Washington Post reports that this isn’t how things played out, with the ship’s permission to dock in the port being yanked at the last minute, even though permission had initially been received.
Atlantis Events CEO Rich Campbell has called this “really unheard of” and “strange and sad,” noting that approval to dock was pulled around 3:30AM. Ship tracking shows the ship approaching Alexandria, only to turn around in the early morning hours, as organizers scramble to find alternatives.
Very shortly after this happened, passengers received a message that included the following text:
“We’re incredibly disappointed to share that Scarlet Lady has just been denied entry into Egyptian waters and will no longer be able to call in Alexandria. We’re working hard to secure an alternative port.”
It’s pointed out how roughly 1,200 tours had been sold through local operators, and of course that does a lot to support tourism in the country.
Egypt hasn’t yet formally commented on why permission was yanked at the last minute, but I think it’s not too hard to figure out what’s going on. As a reminder, Turkey blocked this cruise ship on grounds of “family values,” claiming that the ship was chartered by groups “known for behaviors incompatible with the fabric of our society and our moral values.”
On the Egypt front, hey, I suppose I’m at least in good company in not really being welcome in Egypt, right?
I’m not surprised to see Egypt following Turkey’s lead
Quite honestly, this is exactly the outcome I was expecting, especially with the increasing publicity going toward these cruises being blocked. As I mentioned in the last post, I understand they were probably just scrambling to find a new port, but it was a bit odd to me to be banned from a country on “moral” grounds for hosting a gay cruise, only to then reroute the cruise to a country that’s arguably even more anti-gay.
I figured if anyone even remotely high up in the Egyptian government was made aware, this is what the outcome would be.
It’s important to emphasize that Atlantis Events cruises aren’t just intended for a gay audience, but they’re also definitely marketed as being quite “out there,” and I’ve heard that a lot of stuff happens on those ships. Look, I’m all for everyone living their lives, so I don’t have any issue with any of that.
But when we’re talking about a non-secular country where Islam is the state religion, and that’s supposed to be a main source of writing laws, is this outcome really surprising? I’m not some person who thinks “oh, us gays shouldn’t interact with people with views that differ from ours.” But when you look at how these cruises are marketed, I can’t say I’m surprised that this is the point where authorities revoke permission.
Again, I totally disagree with their logic, and that doesn’t reflect my beliefs. I’m just not surprised they feel that way, and I say that as someone who also isn’t really welcome in Egypt.
Bottom line
Several days ago, Turkey blocked an Atlantis Events gay cruise operated by Virgin Voyages from docking at its ports. At the last minute, organizers decided to instead dock in Egypt. I get that probably just came down to availability, but that surprised me, since Egypt is even less gay friendly than Turkey.
In a development that likely won’t shock many people, this didn’t end well. As the ship approached Egypt and was just a few hours from docking, permission was yanked for the port arrival, and the ship had to turn around, with nowhere to go. I can’t say I’m surprised by this outcome, and if anything, I would’ve been surprised if this weren’t the outcome.
What do you make of this gay cruise saga?
Please respect our moral and religious values. And don’t try to force our way of life and thinking on other societies
When Muslims live in a place where they're a minority, they're always very concerned about minority rights. In places where Muslims are the majority, there are no minority rights.
Gay provocatuers. Move along, nothing to see here.
Wonder how many of the cruisers (pun intended) are those deluded palestine supporters. It’s also so shameful and disgusting that the organizers actually want to visit these disgusting sanctimonious muslim countries.
I would have thought the cruise company would better plan and have better back up plans. Agree that this situation is not surprising.
Good.
No gay person should ever go to a country like Egypt or Turkey (with maybe an exception or two). Prejudice and gay hatred are vile, and both are way to common in our country as well, as you can see from the Neanderthals commenting here.
Good thing they didn’t bring that show to Florida. Don’t need them odd folks here.
You have plenty of your own. Lots of LGB people live in Florida, and a large proportion of Floridians are batshit crazy.
LGBT foks don't even crack the list of craziest folks in Florida.
Why didnt they go to gaza? Hamas would give every homosexual a roof top tour of the city.
... and let's not forget Russia with their stunning window views ! ... lol
Despite all the media rhetoric about how the gay/trans community is repressed etc etc- i know a country with multiple ports where that ship would be welcomed with open arms. The good ol USA and no one here would bat an eye.
Wipe out Palestine and all the other ones like that.
I agree Sanseiman….i hope they continue to bomb Palestine so heavily that even birds stop flying over it.
Easy - just put Trump in Palestine and then watch the world bomb the place up like it’s a metaphorical piñata.
"Palestine" should have been nuked into a flat sheet of radioactive glass on 10/8/23.
Gambit, that's a wild 'hot-take' for someone based in Istanbul, of all places. Do you really speak freely about that while in Erdogan's Turkey? Yikes, man.
Well two people advocating genocide including mass murder if women and children
Yep - some sick sick people here wishing the complete genocide of an entire population. Hope they never have to face a situation where their loved ones and families are arbitrarily killed - ironic but I guess many here would agree with Hitler's philosophy of genetic cleansing; just not the same genetic pool. It's sad how the internet brings out the cowards who are unable to say such things out loudly in the physical world.
Some gay men will claim no the Middle East is very gay friendly because being from the Middle East puts you into the victim hood oppression chain and you can't speak out about anyone in the oppression chain.
So you get "queers for Gaza" even though Gaza is anything but "gay friendly." But if you look "queers for Gaza" is usually compromised of mentally unbalanced young straight women looking for a "cause."
Those people flew 5000 miles to have 2 weeks away from USA.
I've had gay guys tell me that they've have hookups in the Middle East just by making eye-contact on the street, and claim this as evidence that the region isn't as bad for gays as people say it is. Well, easily access to casual sex is one thing, but try setting-up house as a out gay couple in Riyadh, Cairo, or even Doha, and see how "safe" you feel.
The broader issue is that countries can exclude groups of people. This exclusion could be extended to any group that the leadership of a country is unhappy with regardless of how much economic benefit the group could offer.
What’s the issue? This is how sovereign countries operate.
Some countries think that many American tourists are loud, obnoxious and culturally insensitive. Given over tourism, it would be not inconceivable that some countries place quotas or exclusions on certain groups, like Americans. That is how countries operate.
Some countries ate still standing for what was, is and will always be right: normality!
Gay people are normal. Hope that helps Pepe!
And above average!
Spoiler alert to Virgin Cruises for the next stop: avoid muslim countries
is it obvious or are they dumb enough to think that Turkey and Egypt would accept ?
It wasn't a problem 9,999 times before this one. This is far from the first LGBTQ cruise to call in a Muslim country.
I couldn't believe they chose Egypt in the first place. It's not known for embracing gay rights. I saw this coming
Second that!
Maybe the Virgin Cruises should try docking in Gaza and then everyone would be happy. The gays would have a place to vacation and the rest of us wouldn’t have to hear this constant complaining.
Just for clarification I live in Istanbul and personally think it was wrong and bad look for the country to deny entry last week.
Speaking of Turkey, did you see Erdogan gave all heads of state attending the NATO summit in Ankara pistols? But, like, no one told them what the gift was, so some leaders flew home, unknowingly violating their own country’s firearms rules. Bah! That guy… what a character… *smh*
Well, wonder if that least was 'better' than copies of the holy Quran ? .... LOL
Inquiring minds beg to know if the firearms were loaded and/or came with a complementary provision of ammo ? ...Sounds more "Murican .."
You should move to Egypt. I’m sure they will love you too.
Not sure why that is a bad thing. Lived in Masr (Cairo) for two years for work and absolutely loved it. Still miss much of the time and memories in Maadi and Zamalek areas of the city when living there.
Lots of opinions and fewer facts in the comments here. That’s okay, but since I’m on the boat, thought I’d chime. Also happy to answer any questions people have.
First - Atlantis has done port calls in Istanbul (Turkey) and Alexandria (Egypt) many, many times before without issue.
Second - as a consumer, you have the right not to select this cruise, but to criticize companies for offering it is close minded.
Third -...
Lots of opinions and fewer facts in the comments here. That’s okay, but since I’m on the boat, thought I’d chime. Also happy to answer any questions people have.
First - Atlantis has done port calls in Istanbul (Turkey) and Alexandria (Egypt) many, many times before without issue.
Second - as a consumer, you have the right not to select this cruise, but to criticize companies for offering it is close minded.
Third - they have added new ports after each situation, including a visit to Montenegro, so the suggestion that only one country will accept the boat is false.
I'm gay. You could not pay me enough money to not go on an Atlantis Cruise.
Seriously, in a world where men, women and children are being murdered in Gaza, where conflict dictated by the United States on Iran for no real reason and at an enormous cost to taxpayers, where Russia targets innocent civilians in an unrelenting bombing campaign in a futile effort to rebuild an empire where people stood in line for toilet...
I'm gay. You could not pay me enough money to not go on an Atlantis Cruise.
Seriously, in a world where men, women and children are being murdered in Gaza, where conflict dictated by the United States on Iran for no real reason and at an enormous cost to taxpayers, where Russia targets innocent civilians in an unrelenting bombing campaign in a futile effort to rebuild an empire where people stood in line for toilet paper, who really cares about a bunch of wealthy gays and their all inclusive trip to nowhere for a few days. This is not news.
What would we do without you telling us what is worthy of news and what isn’t?
Jesus Christ, you must be a barrel of laughs at dinner parties. Maybe stop fretting about things you cannot change & lighten-up a little.
@PeteAU - 100% agree and was thinking the same thing. Lighten-up Mary!!! I'm gay and have been on a couple of Atlantis gay cruises. They are a BUTT-LOAD of fun!!! I'm ready for another one!
"You could not pay me enough money to not go on an Atlantis Cruise." I cannot parse that sentence. But, thanks for telling us which news stories do or do not require our attention.
All of the stories you have listed have received extensive news coverage for some time and continue to do so. This is also a news story. What’s the issue?
Indeed.
Cyprus would have been a good option and ideal location wise. Why this wasn’t anticipated for a gay cruise, idk…
that's where they landed for this stop (I know some folks on this ship).
Are the organisers incredibly stupid or are they trying to make some sort of point using publicity?
What’s the next stop? Libya? Somalia?
the organizers have stopped in both these ports before.
I'm a straight male. I will never travel to or transit through a country that is anti-gay or anti-female. Admittedly, Egypt and Turkiye wouldn't be high on my list even with reform in those areas. While I wish they had been allowed in port, I do wonder why these ports are on a gay cruise.
If you’re gonna shill for authoritarians, and spell it the way the dictator in Turkey wants, at least do it right, umlaut and all. Ohio…
Definitely Cyprus should have been the option. I live here and it' s a gay friendly country (even locals sometimes may be a little conservative).
But for example, civil union between 2 men (or 2 women) is perfectly legal here (as it is my case).
The beaches in Cyprus are amazing and for sure, that big ship must dock either in Limassol or in Larnaca, which are very welcoming places for gay people....
Definitely Cyprus should have been the option. I live here and it' s a gay friendly country (even locals sometimes may be a little conservative).
But for example, civil union between 2 men (or 2 women) is perfectly legal here (as it is my case).
The beaches in Cyprus are amazing and for sure, that big ship must dock either in Limassol or in Larnaca, which are very welcoming places for gay people.
Regarding the other comments, I was in Istanbul with my spouse from June 24 to July 1 and that same ship was docked at Galataport for 2-3 days.
Even it was not this gay cruise, but for sure, there were many things going on there but nobody said anything. It's what it is!
I agree with the comments on how the cruise company or the organizer of the gay cruise didn't plan in advance correctly: how in the hell you will take a cruise to Muslim countries where you know gay people are not really very welcome?
Of course, while in Istanbul with my spouse, we were surprised of the amount of openly gay people we were seeing every day everywhere, this time.
The elephant in the room is that there is only one eastern Mediterranean country this ship could dock safely and that the guests could enjoy themselves freely. The same country that gets so much hate at the LGBT parades.
Cyprus would be the safest option in the eastern Mediterranean region, and it doesn't get any hate apart from Turkey.
Malta too.
Since when is Malta in eastern Mediterranean?
It's not in the Eastern Mediterranean, but it is a safe port frequented by various cruise liners and NATO vessels, and a couple days away from Egypt by sea. At least was the case when we lived there from 1995-2000. Considering these guys are just floating around, a definitive and capable port would be rather welcome I would think.
Of course you do.
I’m baffled how this wasn’t expected as the outcome by both Virgin Voyages and the Atlantis team, particularly the latter.
seeing as how Atlantis has made regular port calls to these places they had no reason to expect to be turned away.
First Türkiye and now Masr! Ha - hope these guys got a nuclear reactor on board as they float aimlessly around the Mediterranean.
they shouldve known in advance that backwards countries wouldnt let them dock
good thing this cruise wasn't traveling to the land of the free...and very white old homophobic people... they would have been shot by evangelists
@Kent Hey...what do you have against Arkansas?
I'm a proud gay man and I apologize in advance for my thoughts. As Ben said, I'm all about people living their lives. But check out Twitter to see what Atlantis Cruises are actually like. Circuit parties and gang bangs are just a tiny slice of the action. I have friends who've loved them - but it's not for me. While I don't agree with Egypt or Turkey banning the cruise based on gay passengers,...
I'm a proud gay man and I apologize in advance for my thoughts. As Ben said, I'm all about people living their lives. But check out Twitter to see what Atlantis Cruises are actually like. Circuit parties and gang bangs are just a tiny slice of the action. I have friends who've loved them - but it's not for me. While I don't agree with Egypt or Turkey banning the cruise based on gay passengers, I also don't think that Atlantis Cruises (or the gay community) is doing itself any favors by allowing (promoting) the activities that happen on board. I've often thought about the poor room attendants, cleaning people, etc who have to deal with this. Which leads to my next point. A cruise? WHY?
You don’t sound very proud when you need to declare that your not like those gays, your a good gay. So proud.
Not gay but I understand his point and not about being gay or not. How about if we changed it from a gay cruise to either a swinger cruise or a nudist cruise (both exist). Being open with respect to a lifestyle can definitely open up a country to decide they don't want that activity there for a variety of reasons. Many gay people visit Islamic countries, they just don't opening make a big deal of it.
Right lol, cause being gay is all about "Circuit parties and gang bangs" and unless you support that you "You don’t sound very proud." Which one is it, BjornFree - you ain't gay unless you love gang bangs; or if you're a family gay who prefers family life - you aren't proud enough and you are "not like those" gay?
So nice of you to let us all know you're one of the "good gays."
that won't stop anyone from attacking you, but there you are.
It is disappointing that you go to other countries that want gay men dead. You have free will.
People shouldn’t downplay the significance of this because it was a gay cruise that targets gay men partying and living it up.
If they declined entry of a cruise of retired gay and lesbian librarians would it be bad then?
It’s anti-western.
If only there were a country between Turkey and Egypt that hosts the Middle East’s only pride parade and has full LGBT equality… oh wait, it’s also the one that “liberals” hate because it’s Israel
While I know the cruise operators do take it seriously, the amount of illicit substances on those cruises is also very high. Just law wise, Turkey and Egypt are not the kind of countries I would want to be visiting with those in my possession...
I still don't understand how those destinations were chosen to begin with. Don't cruise lines plan their routes in advance? Or do they just sail and stop wherever they feel like?
I just re-re-read, lol.
They are planned in advance and Atlantis has been to both Turkey and Egypt many times before since about 2000
Wanna be near Egypt or Turkey, anyway. Come to Greece, much friendlier. Opa! Ouzo!
(Thank you, as always, for correcting referring to it as Turkey, which is how it is in English.)
OMG how dare people ask to be called by their correct name?!
Fake 1990 you are such a loser.
yep - practice is called "Greek" for a reason. Some will get it and for the others - there is something call Google.
can't wait to see what happens with the Saudi cruise...
And/or the new Delta RUH direct service ! ... I'll drink to that ! Note to self - Do NOT forget to pack the hijab ...
.. lol
Just like your Palestine friends. oh wait. dont say that to the liberals.
Holy whataboutism, Batman!
Lol yeah I bet "gays for fill in the gaps" were onboard
Us gays/liberals obviously don’t agree with being hated. But we also don’t believe in Palestinians being the victims of mass murder. Not sure why that is difficult to understand
That poor bear (yes, actual bear) at 1:15 in the YouTube video