The Scarlet Lady, a cruise ship catering to LGBTQ+ tourists, was denied permission to dock at the port of Alexandria in Egypt. This was the second refusal in the last week, following the one in Turkey.
- The Scarlet Lady was denied entry to the port of Alexandria.
- The vessel has already been refused entry to Turkey.
- There are around 2,000 passengers on board.
- The reasons for the refusal have not been officially explained.
- The ship will set sail for Kotor in Montenegro.
Egypt has refused to allow a cruise ship to dock
The Scarlet Lady cruise ship, organised specifically for LGBTQ+ tourists, was unable to dock at the port of Alexandria. The passengers were informed of this decision in the morning, when written notices were left under their cabin doors. The tour operator, Atlantis Events – considered the world’s largest organiser of travel for the LGBTQ+ community – described the Egyptian authorities’ decision as unexpected. No official reasons were given for the refusal.
This is the second refusal in a few days
Earlier this week, the cruise ship was also unable to dock in Turkey. The Turkish authorities stated that the vessel had been chartered by groups whose behaviour, in their view, was not in keeping with the country’s social and moral values. As a result, the authorities did not allow the ship to call at the ports of Kusadasi and Istanbul. Following this refusal, the organisers changed the itinerary to include Alexandria, but Egypt also refused to allow the ship to dock.
Passengers are making no secret of their disappointment
There are around 2,000 people on board the cruise ship, including approximately 1,100 US citizens, as well as tourists from the UK, Canada and Australia. Many passengers had planned to visit the pyramids and the new Grand Egyptian Museum. According to the organisers, a similar itinerary in 2024 was completed without any problems. Rich Campbell, President of Atlantis Events, stated that in the company’s 36-year history, this was the first time it had faced a situation where a ship had been denied entry twice in a row due to the nature of the tourist group.
Montenegro will be the new destination
Virgin Voyages, the company that owns the cruise ship, has announced that, instead of Alexandria, the ship will sail to the city of Kotor in Montenegro. The organisers have emphasised that they are doing everything possible to ensure the journey remains comfortable for guests despite the unavoidable changes to the itinerary.
