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Turkey, Egypt block LGBTQ+ cruise from docking during Mediterranean voyage 1%
7/31/2026, 4:55:27 PM
BS Summary: This video contains 2 faulty reasoning types, including Negativity Bias, with Framing Effect as the most egregious example at 1.7% saturation with 10 hits. Analysis detected 20 faulty-reasoning hits from 581 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 1.7% and a BS Rank of 1% (24,999 of 25,180 videos). This video is better (less manipulative) than 99.30% of the video peer group.
Now, summer travel is in full swing.
Millions hitting the road, catching a flight, or even taking to the sea.
But for nearly 2,000 passengers on one summer cruise, their trip had an unexpected twist.
>> So, I'm on the gay cruise that was denied entry into Turkey.
>> Patti LuPone writing, "I am shocked the Atlantis cruise I am performing on next week has been banned from entering Turkey.
A ship, a magnificent ship full of gay men and me, denied entry to Turkey simply because of who is on board."
A 10-day gay-themed Mediterranean cruise on board the Scarlet Lady, the Virgin Voyages ship chartered by Atlantis Events, turned away from an entire country.
Turkish authorities saying it's because of behavior that does not align with the values and morals of their society.
Passengers left confused by this sudden change of plans.
>> Were you surprised that Turkey wouldn't let you dock there?
>> It's surprising because we were on a similar cruise last year that started in Turkey.
Something has obviously changed in the winds and the politics.
>> The cruise then chose a new port, Alexandria, Egypt.
But passengers soon got this notice under their cabin doors, saying, "Early this morning, we were informed that Scarlet Lady has been denied entry into Egyptian waters."
Turned away again.
>> We were 3 hours away from from from docking and the captain called me up and said, "I think we have a problem here.
The harbor master had said, 'You're not going to be able to come into Egypt and turn around.'"
>> We reached out to the Egyptian consulate but have not heard back.
While Turkey and Egypt don't explicitly criminalize being gay or trans,
>> [clears throat]
>> vague morality laws against obscenity and indecency can indirectly target LGBTQ+ individuals.
Still, gay-themed cruises have safely made trips to these countries in the past.
>> We were on the phone immediately with the tour operator who had, you know, spent thousands and of dollars setting up buses, tour guides, lunches.
>> By refusing to allow almost 2,000 people to come in to ports in in Turkey and in Egypt, they're saying, "We're perfectly fine with losing hundreds of thousands of dollars."
>> Turkey brought in more than $60 billion in revenue from tourism last year, and Egypt brought in more than $16 billion.
And LGBTQ tourism in particular is a booming industry, projected to exceed $660 billion by 2033, according to a recent study.
Experts say these countries could be hurting their own economies by not embracing that.
>> It could have effects on future plans of of other LGBT people.
They want to travel to places where they will at least feel safe.
>> But the passengers on the Scarlet Lady
>> We're too gay to come spend a bunch of money in your country.
>> Refusing to let this get them down.
>> For 7 to 10 days, we just get to be this uplifting community.
We get to be ourselves, and that's what we really focused on.
>> And when Patti LuPone finally took the stage, she posted this note online with the caption, "A magnificent ship full of gay men and me."
Steven Romo, NBC News.
>> We thank you for watching, and remember, stay updated on breaking news and top stories on the NBC News app or watch live on our YouTube channel.
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