Turkish authorities blocked an LGBTQ+ cruise from calling at two national ports last week, forcing the ship to cut Turkey from its trip itinerary. The ship, Virgin Voyages’ “Scarlet Lady,” was turned away at Kuşadası and Istanbul with Turkish leaders citing “moral standards” and “family values.” According to reports from Advocate, the ship rerouted its journey and continued on to Crete, Greece and Cairo, Egypt.
The Scarlet Lady was being chartered by Atlantis Events, the world’s largest LGBTQ+ cruise company. It’s journey hosted over 2,000 LGBTQ+ passengers. This is the first time Atlantis Events has experienced a complete denial of port call according to company CEO Rich Campbell who said their voyages have been porting in Turkey for over 25 years without issue.
“It’s very concerning to me when a country decides they can pick and choose which tourists are allowed in and which are not,” Campbell told CNN. The move was also condemned by Patti Lupone who was performing on the ship.
The political statement from Turkey is rooted in growing national concern over the state of LGBTQ+ rights in the country. Public anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric has become more prevalent in recent years.
According to Equaldex, LGBTQ+ rights and protections in Turkey are still very limited. Same-sex marriage is still banned and the government offers no protections from discrimination of any kind. Equaldex’s recent studies on public opinion of the LGBTQ+ community indicate that a shocking 45% of respondents do not support queer people being open about their identities.
Virgin Voyages has yet to publicly comment on the occurrence, however, the cruise line has poised itself as LGBTQ+ friendly. Their official site claims their inclusivity mission seeks to offer passengers “an environment where you can be yourself without fear of judgement or stigma, and meet other like minded people looking to share in an epic, open-minded vacation experience.”
Despite the shocking turn away, Atlantis Events has indicated it still hopes to return to Turkey on future routes. However, some cruise lines are shifting future itineraries to exclude Turkey. According to Cruise Critic, Princess Cruises is removing Istanbul from several scheduled Mediterranean trips for 2027, though the exact reasons for these changes remain unclear. Other major cruise lines have yet to comment or shift itineraries based on these recent events.
