A 35-year-old passenger from Spain was arrested and removed from Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady after the ship’s security team found cocaine and cannabis in his possession, and he was not permitted to rejoin the sailing.

The arrest was reported July 13, 2026, during a stop in Souda, Crete, a port that wasn’t on the ship’s original schedule.

Scarlet Lady ended up there after both Turkey and Egypt denied the vessel entry earlier in the voyage, a charter run by Atlantis Events for a 10-night, 2,770-passenger LGBTQ+ sailing that departed Athens July 5 and is scheduled to end in Trieste, Italy, on July 15.

What happened onboard

According to Greek news outlets, the ship’s onboard security team discovered the drugs and immediately contacted the Chania Port Authority. When Scarlet Lady tied up at the pier, Hellenic Coast Guard officers boarded, searched the passenger and took him into custody.

A local prosecutor ordered his release shortly afterward. Greek law tends to treat minor possession for personal use leniently, often resulting in release or a suspended sentence rather than prosecution.

Release from custody didn’t mean a return to the ship. Virgin Voyages refused to let him back onboard for the remainder of the sailing.

The rules that applied

Some cruisers assume drug laws don’t apply once a ship is in international waters or registered under a foreign flag.

The moment a vessel enters a country’s territorial waters or ties up at a pier, everyone onboard is subject to that country’s laws, regardless of where the ship is registered or where the passenger is from.

Virgin Voyages’ own prohibited items policy is unambiguous on this point. The list states that “all illegal drugs, non-prescribed controlled substances, medically prescribed marijuana or synthetic marijuana and CBD products, as well as certain uncontrolled substances wrongfully used to cause impairment” are banned onboard.

Part of a rough stretch for this charter

This is the third disruption in a little over a week for the same sailing.

Turkish authorities refused Scarlet Lady’s scheduled calls at Kuşadası and Istanbul, citing concerns about the passengers’ “moral values.”

Egyptian authorities then denied a planned substitute stop in Alexandria without giving a public reason.

Both denials pushed the ship toward Greece, landing it in Souda in the first place, a port that was never part of the original itinerary.

With just a couple of days left before Scarlet Lady reaches Trieste on July 15, the charter has now weathered two port denials and a passenger arrest.

A crew member aboard Regal Princess died after going overboard near Cancun, Mexico, Princess Cruises confirmed Monday, capping a five-hour search across two areas.

“Regal Princess is conducting man overboard right now,” a passenger wrote to Cruise Radio’s tip line early Monday. “We were woken up by captain’s all ship announcement. Crew member is missing. We are now have turned around and is sailing at 25 knots!”

Vessel data shows Regal Princess reversed course at 4:02 a.m., about 524 nautical miles from Port Everglades, then covered 30 nautical miles before reaching an initial search area at 5:39 a.m. local time.

A missed port

At 8:30 a.m., the passenger reported another bridge update.

Captain just made announcement: they’re continuing to search and have recalculated their best guess on location of missing crew member,” the passenger wrote. “Cozumel will be delayed by several hours and maybe cancelled altogether. Originally supposed to be docked already.”

The crew member was never found.

“They did not find crew member, search for many hours, lost Cozumel port today,” the passenger wrote, adding that the captain said the ship would make up the stop on the way back. “Captain did many updates to passengers throughout the day and was respectful to the crew and professional and kept us updated.”

Princess confirms the death

Princess Cruises is deeply saddened to confirm the passing of a Princess crew member who has gone overboard today from Regal Princess. Our heartfelt condolences go out to the crew’s family and friends during this difficult time.

It went on to say, “Grief support services are being offered to guests and crew members affected by this event. Princess Cruises thanks the local maritime authorities and our colleagues from Carnival Jubilee who assisted in search and rescue efforts.

Princess has not released the crew member’s identity, nationality or the details of the man overboard.

Regal Princess is due in Belize July 14 as planned. Cozumel will be made up July 16, and the ship remains on schedule to return to Fort Lauderdale July 18.

A Mediterranean cruise chartered by Atlantis Events was denied port entry twice in the same week, first in Turkey and then in Egypt, forcing organizers to rework the itinerary on a single 10-night sailing aboard Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady.

Turkey cancels two port calls

The Athens to Venice cruise, chartered by US-based Atlantis Events, departed July 5 with stops originally planned in Kusadası and Istanbul. Turkish authorities canceled both calls, saying the charter did not meet the country’s moral standards, according to CNN.

Aydın province, home to the Kusadası port, said there was “absolutely no possibility of the group in question visiting our province for an event of this nature,” adding that the charter was “known for behaviors incompatible with the fabric of our society and our moral values.”

Rich Campbell, president and CEO of Atlantis Events, called the decision “pretty stunning” and said the company had made repeated attempts to get Turkish authorities to reverse course. “It’s very concerning to me when a country decides they can pick and choose which tourists are allowed in and which are not,” he told CNN.

Campbell told USA Today the ship posed no different a presence in port than any other vessel. “It’s not like we’re not a gay pride rally, we’re not a march, we’re not an organization, we’re not a political statement in any way,” he said, adding that the cruise had been advertised a year in advance.

Atlantis has chartered cruises to Istanbul and Kusadası 13 times over the past 25 years without incident, according to Campbell.

Roughly 1,100 of the ship’s approximately 1,900 passengers are from the United States, with the rest coming from the UK, Canada, Australia and elsewhere, per CNN.

In place of the Turkey stops, Atlantis added calls in Alexandria, Egypt, and Crete, Greece.

Egypt pulls the plug hours before arrival

Days later, Egyptian authorities denied the ship entry to Alexandria, just hours before it was due to dock, according to USA Today.

“We were given full approval to arrive in Egypt and just four hours before we picked up the pilot and customs officers, we were told that the ship would not be allowed to enter the harbor,” Campbell said. “No explanation was given for this decision and we are very disappointed.”

Campbell said Atlantis has brought chartered cruises to Egypt at least five times without incident. “Last year we brought 2,500 guests to Alexandria and the year before 1,200, both without incident,” he said. Egyptian port authorities have not publicly stated a reason for the denial.

What’s next

With Alexandria off the itinerary, the ship is now scheduled to call at Kotor, Montenegro.

Virgin Voyages said it was “incredibly disappointed” by both denials and is working to ensure guests still have a strong trip. Atlantis Events said it hopes the situation is isolated and that both countries will welcome all guests without conditions in the future.