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.
