Egyptian authorities denied the entry of the Scarlet Lady into its waters for a planned call at Alexandria on Wednesday, July 8, 2026.

Currently chartered to Atlantis Events, the Virgin Voyages vessel is on an LGBTQ+ voyage in the Eastern Mediterranean.

“We’re incredibly disappointed to share that the Scarlet Lady has just been denied entry into Egyptian waters and will no longer be able to call at Alexandria,” organizers said in a statement shared with guests onboard.

AIS data shows the ship turning around after approaching the Egyptian port in the early hours of Wednesday.

According to the statement, Atlantis Events was “working hard” with Virgin Voyages to find and secure an alternative port for the itinerary.

After sailing from Piraeus on July 5, 2026, the Scarlet Lady is offering a ten-night cruise to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Adriatic.

Initially scheduled to visit destinations in Greece, Croatia and Turkey, the LGBTQ+voyage had its itinerary changed before departing due to port restrictions in Turkey.

According to a report by CNN, visits to Istanbul and Kusadasi had to be cancelled after local authorities denied access to the ship.

Officials reportedly said that the vessel was not welcome.

With the stops in Turkey cancelled, Atlantis put together a new itinerary that included visits to Souda Bay in Crete and Alexandria in Egypt.

Planned calls to other destinations, including Mykonos, Santorini, Dubrovnik,and Zadar, were kept in the itinerary. The Atlantis Events’ cruise will end at the port of Trieste as scheduled on July 15, 2026.

The Scarlet Lady is then scheduled to start a second LGBTQ+ voyage, which will sail from the Italian port to Barcelona.

The nine-night itinerary features visits to destinations in Italy, Spain, France and Croatia, including Split, Valletta, Palermo, Sorrento, Civitavecchia, Villefranche and Marseille.