Hundreds of Aussies were onboard the LGBTQ cruise turned away from two countries

• A cruise run by an LGBTQ events company on Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady has been turned away from Egypt and Turkey.
• Turkey cited that the company is “known for behaviours incompatible with the fabric of our society and our moral values” as the reason for not accepting the ship.
• Hundreds of Australians have been confirmed to have been onboard for the difficult experience.

An LGBTQ+ cruise chartered on Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady was turned away by Turkey and Egypt, which refused to accept the passengers, sparking worldwide controversy.

Travel Weekly reported that a travel agent told them that a few hundred Australians were onboard the ship, which would likely make Aussies the second most represented country onboard, after the USA. There were more 1900 passengers on the ship in total.

Turkey claimed the company running the cruise is “known for behaviours incompatible with the fabric of our society and our moral values.”

The voyage sailed Athens to Venice, and was run by Atlantis Events, a travel company specialised in events and trips for the LGBTQ+ community. 

Rich Campbell the president and CEO of Atlantis Events said to CNN: “We had full approval and they denied us clearance at the 11th hour.”

To passengers he said: “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.”

The company has cruised to these destinations before without issue, but some travel experts are concerned about discrimination in the industry.

It’s been speculated that the cruise could have received more attention this year due to the presence of celebrities, such as Patti LuPone, on board, but there are still those in the industry who worry that the sudden resistance could be due to a shifting political landscape.

For example, Kyle Olsen, who owns Hermes Holidays, another LGBTQ travel company, said he sees this as part of a worrying trend.

“We’re seeing a rise in right-wing governments and increasingly conservative political movements, and in many places LGBTQI+ rights are being rolled back as a result. The decisions by Turkey and Egypt don’t exist in isolation.”

However, he said he felt that spirits onboard remained high and resilient.

“Redirecting this ship has created an even greater sense of community onboard. It is beautiful to experience.”

What are people saying?

One Reddit user ClassicHando wrote: “Won’t lie, if I was going on a gay cruise I’d want to be stopping in places more friendly.”

User 2daytrending added: “This case is the reminder that being tolerated for tourism is not the same as being accepted.”

Some cruisers questioned the choice of destinations in the first place, writing: “I am 100 % pro LGBTQ + and thinks it’s messed up these countries are this way. But who in the blue hell thought it was a good idea to have a gay cruise in the Middle East? Sadly what’s going on may very well be a best case scenario.”

However, other users gave context to this: “They’ve been doing these cruises for years and never had issues in the past. It’s the governments of Turkey and Egypt that were the ones who decided to change anything.”

Others said they’ve cancelled future travel plans to these countries.

User Another_Dragon wrote: “We were seriously considering a trip to Turkey this winter and we changed plans after reading this. Vote with your tourist dollars.”

Some cruisers even shared their experiences travelling in Egypt as LGBTQ travellers before.

“I’ve met gay tourists on my trip to Egypt in a few group tours, and they unfortunately had to be really careful about hiding the fact that they were gay. Just seems like a less than great idea to go to an anti-lgbt country on an openly lgbt activity. Hopefully one day the attitude there will shift to being tolerant of the LGBT, as the Middle East and northern African regions are beautiful.”