A liner with 2,000 LGBT tourists was first turned away by Turkey, then by Egypt

The cruise liner Scarlet Lady, chartered by the American company Atlantis Events for a themed LGBT+ community trip, faced two refusals during its Mediterranean route. After being banned from calling at Turkish ports, the ship was also not allowed to enter Egyptian Alexandria.

There are about 2,000 passengers on board the liner. The ship was originally supposed to stop in the Turkish ports of Kuşadası and Istanbul, but the authorities of Aydın province had already announced that they would not allow the vessel to dock. The official statement said that the cruise was organized by groups whose behavior «does not correspond to the structure of society and moral values», and that the visit itself had caused «serious concern» among part of the local population.

After that, the organizers quickly changed the route and arranged a stop in Egyptian Alexandria. However, as the ship approached the coast, passengers received a notice that the Egyptian authorities had also refused the liner entry into their territorial waters. Egypt did not provide any official explanation for the decision.

Atlantis Events CEO Rich Campbell said the company was surprised by what happened, since a similar route had already been operated last year without any problems. According to him, in the company’s 36-year history, this is the first time a cruise has effectively been denied entry because of the passenger composition.

As a result, the route had to be changed again. Instead of Turkey and Egypt, the liner headed to the Greek island of Crete, after which it will continue its journey with a stop in Montenegro.