Cruise ships have notoriously complex governance rules.
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Officially, all ships sailing the high seas, oceans, and rivers must follow maritime law. (Yes, even river cruises and lake cruises!) Additionally, cruise ships follow the laws of the country where they’re registered. Whichever flag you see flying from the mast is where the ship is registered.
The Bahamas, for example, have favorable maritime regulations, meaning companies like Royal Caribbean, Disney, Carnival, Silversea, Norwegian, and more are registered there.
Maritime law and national registration aside, countries still maintain authority over their ports. And Turkey just shocked the travel world by turning away the Scarlet Lady, a Virgin Voyages vessel that was sailing for an Atlantis Events cruise. Here’s what we know.
Scarlet Lady turned away at Turkish ports due to ‘family values’ issue
The Scarlet Lady, part of the Virgin Voyages fleet, was in the midst of a ten-day ‘Athens to Venice’ cruise that was slated to stop in Turkey’s Mediterranean Kusadasi coastal port on July 7. After, the ship would sail on to Istanbul for another stop.
The Athens to Venice route is hosted by Atlantis Events. The cruise is an LGBTQ+ route with more than one thousand passengers, most of whom are gay men. That’s at odds with Turkey’s current political outlook, headed by President Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan, who heads the AK Party, is known for having banned pride parades in Istanbul starting in 2015.
Today, reports have emerged that Turkish port authorities have canceled the ship’s events in both Kusadasi and Istanbul. The reason? According to local authorities, the ship’s passengers are “known for behaviors incompatible with the fabric of our society and our moral values.”
According to Rich Campbell, CEO of Atlantis Events, the concern is that Turkey seems to be selectively deciding which tourists to let in. In a statement to CNN, Campbell states that it’s the first time in 36 years of operation that one of his cruises has been told it’s not welcome.
Now, the Scarlet Lady will be headed to Cairo, Egypt and Crete, Greece rather than Kusadasi and Istanbul.
While the move comes as a shock, Turkey isn’t the only country where LGBTQ topics are off-limits, and conduct can be perceived as immoral or legally treated as criminal activity.
