Turkey blocks American LGBTQ+ cruise from docking, citing “moral standards”

Turkish authorities denied docking permission to an Atlantis Events cruise—operated by Virgin Voyages—planned as a 10-day “Athens to Venice” voyage. Organizers said the ship was refused port access at two Turkish stops (including the resort town of Kuşadası and later Istanbul), with local officials citing “moral standards” and “family values.”

As a result, the organizers rerouted the itinerary before the cruise reached Turkish waters. The revised plan moved the trip to include ports in Cairo, Egypt, and the Greek island of Crete instead, with the sailing reportedly still departing from Greece on July 5.

Atlantis Events’ CEO, Rich Campbell, said the decision was unprecedented in the company’s history, describing it as the first time it had been explicitly told it could not berth because of the identity of its passengers.