The sudden cancellation of the Spartacus Gay Cruise 2026 has stirred frustration among travelers: less than a week before the planned departure, the LGBTQ+ cruise has been called off. The reason cited are ongoing technical problems aboard the cruise ship Vasco da Gama, as Nicko Cruises announced on Wednesday.
The Baltic Sea itinerary was set to begin on June 9 in Kiel and would include calls at Copenhagen, Gdańsk, and Rønne, with the return to Kiel planned for June 14. The vessel had been fully chartered to the event organizer mCruise GmbH, which belongs to the Blu-Mediengruppe in Berlin. Affected guests were informed about the cancellation and the next steps to take.
The “Vasco da Gama” is over 30 years old
The ship, which entered service in 1993 and can accommodate roughly 1,000 passengers, has been in a shipyard in Brest, France for about five and a half weeks. After initial work to fix issues with the starboard propeller, a defect was discovered in one of the main engines. A damage assessment that has since been completed indicated that repairs would take longer than originally anticipated, Nicko Cruises explained.
Facebook | Reaction to the cancellation on Facebook
According to the company, every option had been explored. With safety and the quality of the travel experience in mind, the decision was made to cancel. The cancellation also affects the line’s regular cruise scheduled from June 14 to July 2, 2026. The time gained from this pause is intended to be used to complete repairs on the main engine within a window of roughly one month.
“Spartacus Gay Cruise 2027” is planned to go ahead
On Wednesday, the homepage still listed available spots for “Spartacus Gay Cruise 2026,” but all information for this year’s voyage has since been removed. The “Spartacus Gay Cruise 2027,” planned to sail the Mediterranean from October 15 to 22 next year, is expected to proceed as scheduled. (no further notes)
