Gay cruise rejected by Turkey also blocked by Egypt, organisers say
Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady has been blocked from entering Egypt (Getty Images)
An LGBTQ+ cruise ship that was barred from docking in Turkey last week has now also been rejected by Egypt, the cruise’s organisers have said.
Atlantis Events CEO Rich Campbell revealed that Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady was scheduled to dock in Alexandria on 9 July as an alternative to Turkey but permissions were pulled at the last minute.
He told the Washington Post that the situation was “really unheard of” and “strange and sad”. A reason for the change of plan has not yet been shared.
Campbell went on to say that Alexandria denied the ship’s arrival on approach and “refused to allow” it into the harbour, despite it receiving approval to visit.
In a statement shared on 9 July, Virgin Voyages said: “We were incredibly disappointed to learn that Scarlet Lady was denied entry hours before our planned call. We successfully operated a similar itinerary last year without issue and will continue to do everything possible to ensure the charter guests and Crew complete an incredible vacation, now calling on Kotor, Montenegro as an alternative.”
The ship is currently accommodating 2,000 passengers, who were scheduled to partake on tours of Cairo and the Egyptian Museum.
‘It’s very concerning’
“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,” said an update to the passengers’ itinerary. “We’re working hard to secure an alternative port.”
The ship, which set out to sail from Athens to Venice around the Mediterranean, was turned away from a port in Turkey on 2 July, with Turkish authorities citing “moral standards” and “family values” as reasons for its denial.
“It’s pretty stunning, to be honest. I mean, and the reasoning behind it is that it’s a gay group,” CEO Campbell told CNN last week.
“It’s very concerning to me when a country decides they can pick and choose which tourists are allowed in and which are not.”
He said it was the first time in 36 years that the company has been “actively told we may not berth here because of who we are”.
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