35-Year-Old Kicked off Virgin Voyages Charter Sailing for Drug Possession

While cruise ships want their passengers (or in this case, “sailors”) to have a great vacation, they take rules about illegal substances very seriously.

A 35-year-old passenger from Spain found this out the hard way. On July 13, 2026, he was arrested and removed from Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady and told he could not return.

The incident took place during a stop in Souda, Crete, where the ship’s private security team discovered cocaine and cannabis in the passenger’s possession.

According to news outlets in Greece, the ship’s security immediately contacted the Chania Port Authority when they made the discovery.  The moment the ship tied up at the pier, Hellenic Coast Guard officers boarded the vessel, searched the man, and took him into custody.

While a local Greek prosecutor ended up ordering his release shortly after the arrest, his cruise was over.

Under Greek Law, local courts treat minor possession strictly for personal use with fairly light penalties, often resulting in immediate release or even suspended sentences. But, while the passenger avoided a Greek prison, he couldn’t escape the cruise line’s rules.

Many cruisers falsely believe that because a ship is sailing in international waters or registered in a foreign country, drug laws don’t apply. In reality, the moment a vessel enters a country’s territorial waters or docks at a pier, you are fully subject to the laws of that nation.

Virgin Voyages refused to let him back on the ship for the remainder of the sailing, so he had to pay for his own travel back to Spain.

The prohibited items list on Virgin Voyages’ website clearly 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 prohibited.”

The arrest happened during a port of call that was not even on the original schedule for the 2,770-passenger Scarlet Lady, which was chartered by Atlantis Events for a month-long LGBTQ+ cruise. The ship only ended up in Crete after both Turkey and Egypt denied the vessel entry into their waters, forcing the detour.

There are only a couple days left on this sailing as this specific 10-night charter, which departed Athens on July 5, is scheduled to reach its final port in Trieste, Italy, on July 15, 2026.