Cruise Not Allowed to Visit Turkey Due to 'Moral Values'

A cruise billed as an all-gay getaway is sailing the Mediterranean without Turkey on its map, after local officials said the passengers clash with the country's "moral values." Atlantis Events, which chartered Virgin Voyages' Scarlet Lady for a 10-night trip from Athens, Greece, to Italy's Venice, says Turkish authorities abruptly canceled scheduled stops in Istanbul and the resort port of Kusadasi set for next week, reports the Washington Post. The provincial government office that includes Kusadasi announced the move on X, describing groups on board as "known for their behavior incompatible with our society's structure and moral values."

Turkish officials and Virgin Voyages haven't publicly commented. Atlantis Events CEO Rich Campbell says the company has brought LGBTQ+ cruises to Turkey more than a dozen times over two decades without problems and believed at first this was a misunderstanding. Attempts to reverse the decision—including help from the US Embassy in Ankara—went nowhere, he said. "It's pretty stunning, to be honest," Campbell tells CNN. "It's very concerning to me when a country decides they can pick and choose which tourists are allowed in and which are not."

Broadway actor Patti LuPone, slated to perform on board, criticized the move on social media. "A ship—a magnificent ship—full of well-heeled gay men. And me," she wrote, noting she was "furious" at Turkey's decision. "Denied entry to Turkey simply because of who is on board." The ship will instead spend a full day in Egypt and add a stop in Crete. Campbell estimates Turkey will forgo at least $1 million in passenger spending and warns the incident could chill broader tourism, per the Post.