A South African couple aboard the gay cruise ship denied permission to dock in both Turkey and Egypt have shared their experience after the voyage made international headlines.
MambaOnline spoke to Brett Anderson-Terry, who is travelling on the Virgin Voyages-owned Scarlet Lady during the 10-day Atlantis Events Mediterranean cruise.
Cruise Itinerary Disrupted by Two Countries
Departing from Athens, the voyage was due to include stops at the Turkish ports of Kuşadası and Istanbul. However, days before reaching Kuşadası, Atlantis Events was informed by the Turkish authorities that permission for the ship to dock had been withdrawn because the cruise was organised for people whose “moral values” were deemed incompatible with those of the country.
The ship, carrying almost 2,000 men, was then rerouted to Alexandria, Egypt, as a replacement destination. That plan also collapsed when approval to dock in the city’s port was unexpectedly withdrawn at the last minute.
A Milestone Celebration Takes an Unexpected Turn
Anderson-Terry told MambaOnline that he had booked the cruise to celebrate his husband Roger’s 50th birthday. The couple are experienced cruise travellers.
“One of the highlights on this cruise was going to be going to Istanbul. We’d never been, which was one of the reasons why we chose this cruise. And just two days before the cruise, we heard wind that Turkey was denying us entry into the two destinations.”
The authorities reportedly became aware that the cruise was carrying hundreds of gay passengers after Tek Yön, one of Istanbul’s oldest gay nightclubs, shared a social media post inviting passengers to visit the venue when they arrived. The post also led to the club being shut down for “practices and transactions that violate legal regulations.”
After the itinerary was changed to Egypt, the couple and the other passengers looked forward to visiting the pyramids. Atlantis Events and Virgin Voyages advised guests to dress conservatively, avoid public displays of affection and refrain from using dating apps while ashore.
“But as we woke up, I noticed a little notice under our door, telling us with great shock, that the Egyptian government had also denied our ship entry. So Virgin Voyages had to do a 180 and then the scrambling started all over again to try and find new destinations.”
Disappointment Turned Into Defiance
Anderson-Terry said passengers initially felt disappointed, but those emotions soon evolved into something deeper.
“I think it eventually got into a kind of an anger at, you know, the fact that in 2026 we are being denied our existence.”
The cruise eventually diverted to Kotor in Montenegro, a destination that Anderson-Terry said exceeded everyone’s expectations.
“It certainly didn’t stop us 1,900 gents from having a great time and the new destinations were even more beautiful.”
He praised both Virgin Voyages and Atlantis Events for responding quickly to the unexpected changes.
“They did all the hard work and made us forget about the bad taste that was left in our mouths.”
He added: “Resilience is the thing that I know about our community. With the majority on this cruise, you know, there was just this feeling of we can move on, and that’s kind of what happened.”
Economic and Human Rights Consequences
Anderson-Terry pointed out that both Turkey and Egypt are likely to have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in tourism revenue by turning away a ship filled with affluent international travellers.
“This is the first time in 30 years that Atlantis has been denied entry into any destination. It’s very sad that both Turkey and Egypt have just shown their true colours to the gay community, and I guess that’s going to put some serious thinking into destinations in the future, and probably Egypt and Turkey will not be on a future destination.”
While the passengers were ultimately able to continue their holiday, Anderson-Terry said the experience highlighted the reality faced by LGBTQ+ people living in both countries.
“To me it was really sad to realise what we all on the cruise take for granted,” he said. “From what I could tell, not much thought was given to the reality of being gay in both Turkey and Egypt.”
He acknowledged that “as with us and most on our cruise, we get to go back home without having to watch ourselves.”
LGBTQ+ Rights Under Pressure in Turkey and Egypt
Turkey has become increasingly repressive towards the LGBTQ+ community. Authorities routinely ban Pride events, while President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has claimed that the “traditional family” is under threat from what he has described as the “LGBT plague” and “LGBT perversion”.
In Egypt, authorities use public morality and indecency laws to target LGBTQ+ people, with convictions carrying prison sentences. Police also commonly entrap LGBTQ+ people through social media and dating apps.
In 2020, Egypt told the United Nations that it could not protect the rights of LGBTQ+ people because it does not recognise that they exist.
