By Fabrice Burton-Tasendo
Just days after Turkish authorities blocked an Atlantis Events LGBTQ+ cruise from entering scheduled ports in Turkey, Egypt has now also refused entry to the same ship, turning what first looked like a shocking one-country incident into something far more alarming.
The Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady, chartered by Atlantis Events for its Mediterranean gay cruise, was first denied access to Turkish ports including Kuşadası and Istanbul. Turkish authorities cited “moral values” and public concern in explaining the decision. The ship’s arrival had been “cancelled” after it “sparked significant public concern,” Turkish authorities said — never mind that Atlantis had brought gay cruises to Istanbul and Kuşadası more than a dozen times over the past 25 years without incident.
Egypt was then added as a substitute port, with Alexandria expected to give passengers access to tours of Cairo, the pyramids, and the Egyptian Museum. But early Thursday morning, passengers were informed that the ship had been denied entry into Egyptian waters and would no longer be able to call in Alexandria.
For the nearly 2,000 guests onboard, this was not simply another itinerary change. It was the second time in one week that a government effectively told LGBTQ+ travelers they were not welcome.
Broadway legend Patti LuPone, who is performing on the cruise and has long been beloved by LGBTQ+ audiences, had already posted her outrage after Turkey’s decision, saying she was “furious” but still sailing and ready to perform for the guests onboard. Comedian Brad Loekle, also onboard, captured the emotional weight of the moment in a post from the ship, describing a “shifting tide” against the LGBTQ+ community while also praising Virgin Voyages, Atlantis Events founder Rich Campbell, and the spaces Atlantis has created for LGBTQ+ people to feel truly free.
That word — free — is the heart of this story.
Because this is not about a party ship. It is not about spectacle. It is not about politics. It is about travelers, couples, friends, artists, entertainers, staff, and community members who paid to see the world and were instead met with government-backed rejection because of who they are.
Atlantis Events has seen anti-LGBTQ+ port hostility before — including Grand Cayman’s infamous 1998 refusal to allow an Atlantis-chartered cruise to stop there — but this week feels different. Two governments, in rapid succession, have now turned away the same LGBTQ+ charter, transforming a travel disruption into a warning sign for the entire global tourism industry.
“This is no longer an isolated port issue,” said Matt Skallerud, President of Pink Media and former Board Chair of the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association. “Two countries in one week did not simply reject an itinerary. They rejected people. Cruise lines, tour operators, travel advisors, destination marketers, and travelers themselves now have to decide whether discrimination against LGBTQ+ guests will be treated as a minor inconvenience or as a line that cannot be crossed.”
That is what makes Egypt’s decision so chilling. Turkey’s action was already disturbing. Egypt following so quickly raises a larger question: if one government gets away with this, how many others may feel emboldened to follow?
That is the danger of silence.
For years, LGBTQ+ travelers have understood that not every destination offers equal legal protections or social safety. But there is a difference between a traveler choosing where they feel safest and a government refusing entry to an entire group because the passengers are LGBTQ+. That distinction matters. One is risk assessment. The other is state-sanctioned exclusion.
It is also economically reckless. LGBTQ+ travelers are loyal, engaged, and high-value participants in global tourism. They travel with friends, partners, families, chosen families, and communities. They book tours, restaurants, excursions, hotels, shopping, entertainment, and return visits. They remember the places that welcome them — and they remember the places that turn them away.
“This is a moment for the travel industry to show whether its Pride messaging means anything after June,” Skallerud said. “If destinations can accept LGBTQ+ tourism dollars when convenient, but reject LGBTQ+ travelers when extremists object, then cruise lines, tour operators, travel advisors, and travelers have every right to take their business elsewhere.”
For Fabrice Burton-Tasendo, Executive Vice President of Pink Media, the news also hits personally.
“I have personally been on Atlantis cruises that stopped in Turkey without incident, and that is what makes this so chilling,” Burton-Tasendo said. “This is not about behavior. It is not about safety. It is about governments deciding that LGBTQ+ people are suddenly unacceptable simply because we are visible. Marriage equality did not happen because LGBTQ+ people fought alone. It happened because straight allies, parents, friends, and good people everywhere saw the cruelty of denying someone happiness. This is one of those moments again.”
That final point matters.
The responsibility cannot fall on LGBTQ+ people alone.
Marriage equality in the United States did not happen because LGBTQ+ people fought in isolation. It happened because parents, siblings, friends, coworkers, neighbors, faith leaders, business owners, and straight allies looked at the cruelty of denying people love, family, stability, and happiness — and decided they could no longer stay silent.
This is one of those moments again.
If American travelers, cruise lines, tour operators, travel advisors, entertainers, and allied organizations make clear that tourism dollars should not reward governments that humiliate LGBTQ+ people at the border, this may remain an isolated and shameful episode. But if the world shrugs, the message to other governments in the region and beyond will be unmistakable: you can exclude LGBTQ+ travelers, invoke “morality,” and still keep the business.
That cannot be allowed to become the new normal.
This is not a call to condemn the people of Turkey or Egypt, many of whom have welcomed LGBTQ+ travelers warmly over the years. It is a call to hold governments accountable when they weaponize identity and use LGBTQ+ people as political scapegoats.
A port closed to LGBTQ+ travelers is more than a missed excursion.
It is a warning sign.
And the answer cannot be silence.
