It's been a rough few days for Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas. Last weekend, a crew member on the Port Everglades-based megaship was murdered on a beach in Cozumel by a Mexican bartender; now a passenger has been charged with dealing drugs on board.
Steven Krumholz, a 51-year-old from West Hollywood, was arrested on Saturday aboard Atlantis, "the world's largest gay cruise," which chartered the entire 5,500-person ship. During a stopover in St. Thomas, U.S. Customs and Border Protection conducted a random raid on the ship.
They reportedly found 2.83 grams of methamphetamine, more than 140
Ecstasy pills, ketamine, and $51,020 in cash. It appears they caught Krumholz rather late in the game, but at least his fellow cruisers got to enjoy themselves a bit before the swashbuckling blueshirts raided his booty.
The authorities found Krumholz after they found drugs on another passenger who said they had purchased them from him. He was detained by ICE investigators on charges of possession with intent to sell. Royal Caribbean says it is cooperating fully with the investigation.
This is bad press for the already tarnished Allure, just months into its cruising life, but shouldn't raise too many eyebrows. While Krumholz will probably face some exorbitant sentence, it's no surprise that cruise ships are magnets for self-indulgence. Take 5,500 adults who want to party and put them together in a metal box in the middle of the ocean. Drugs? You bet!
It brings to mind another recent raid on the Jam Fest cruise out of Port Everglades, which "resulted in 15 seizures of marijuana, LSD, mushrooms, hash oil, Ecstasy,
prescription drugs and drug paraphernalia in mostly small quantities." Defend our waters and keep the terrorists at bay, boys!
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