Egypt turns away cruise ship with mostly gay men after Turkey blocked same voyage from docking

A Mediterranean cruise chartered for thousands of LGBTQ+ travelers, most of them gay men, has been blocked from docking at a second country along its itinerary because of who the travelers are.As The Advocate reported on Friday, Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady, chartered by Atlantis Events for a 10-day sailing from Athens, Greece, to Italy, was denied scheduled port calls in Kuşadası and Istanbul by Turkish authorities last week, citing "moral standards," forcing organizers to change the route shortly before the ship arrived. Atlantis said on its website that Turkish authorities informed the company the ship would not be permitted to dock in either city.Related: Turkish government blocks gay cruise carrying Americans from docking, citing ‘moral standards’Now, the replacement stop in Alexandria, Egypt, has reportedly been canceled as well, according to VV Insider, a Virgin Voyages-focused news site. The Advocate has not independently confirmed the cancellation in Egypt.VV Insider reported that passengers received a message via the onboard app stating that Scarlet Lady had been “denied entry into Egyptian waters” and would no longer call at Alexandria.“We’re incredibly disappointed to share that Scarlet Lady has just been denied entry into Egyptian waters and will no longer be able to call in Alexandria,” the message said, according to VV Insider. “We’re working hard to secure an alternative port. [CEO] Rich [Campbell] from Atlantis Events and Captain Bram will share more details later this morning, but we wanted to let you know as soon as we received this unfortunate news.”The Advocate has reached out to Atlantis Events for confirmation and comment, including whether the Alexandria stop was canceled and whether the company was told the decision was related to the LGBTQ+ passengers or the nature of the charter, but did not hear back. The Advocate also asked the U.S. State Department via email what it says about American citizens and an American co