LOCAL
10 • FEBRUARY 09, 2018 • LOSANGELESBLADE.COM
Should Atlantis cruises come with a warning label? Chartered Royal Caribbean ship silent on onboard overdoses By KAREN OCAMB kocamb@losangelesblade.com Popular Storm Chasers star Joel Taylor was laid to rest on Jan. 29 in his hometown of Elk City, Okla. Just before the funeral, Reed Timmer, Taylor’s best friend and former Storm Chasers co-star, posted a photo on Twitter of Dominator 1—the black armored storm-chasing beast Taylor drove on the Discovery Channel series—saying the vehicle was heading to Oklahoma to join many others in honoring the star. Taylor was 38. There is something stunning about how protected Taylor was during his dangerous career, only to die vulnerable and alone from a suspected drug overdose aboard the 18deck Harmony of the Seas, the largest ocean liner in Royal Caribbean International’s fleet, chartered by West Hollywood-based Atlantis Events. “Law enforcement sources tell TMZ, ‘It appears the death could be an overdose and Joel Taylor was consuming controlled substances,’” TMZ reported Jan. 24. “A passenger who interacted with Joel tells TMZ, Joel had consumed enough GHB on the dance floor Tuesday that he was rendered unconscious and taken off the dance floor by 2 people and back to his room.” Taylor was declared dead by the U.S. Coast Guard when the ship docked in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Passengers reported earlier on social media that several people were arrested for drug possession at the Ft. Lauderdale port of origin on Jan. 20 as they boarded for the seven-day Caribbean cruise. “The drug use on this cruise was the worst we had ever seen. Out in the open as it was widely accepted and no one had shame. We had never seen people do GHB, Coke and Meth all while dancing but we did on this cruise,” Anthony wrote Jan. 29 on Jim Walker’s Cruise Law News website. “It was so accepted that it became the joke of all the shows.” “As is our standard procedure, law enforcement was notified and responded to the ship when it arrived in San Juan,
Joel Taylor of ‘Storm Chasers’ died during an Atlantis gay cruise. An overdose is suspected. Photo via Facebook
Puerto Rico, on Tuesday, January 23,” Owen Torres, manager of global corporate communications for Royal Caribbean Cruises, told PEOPLE in a statement. “We extend our most sincere and heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the 38-year-old male guest from the United States who died while onboard Harmony of the Seas. A member of our Care Team is providing support and assistance to his family,” Torres added. Atlantis Events released no statement of condolence or explanation. Jim Key, former Chief Marketing Officer for the Los Angeles LGBT Center, fumed over Taylor’s death. He lost a friend after a night of drug use on an Atlantis Events cruise. On Jan. 29, he distributed an open letter to Royal Caribbean International President Michael Bayley. “Since Atlantis Events refuses to take responsibility to protect the lives of passengers on Royal Caribbean-chartered and operated ships, you—and the heads of other cruise lines that do business with Atlantis—must take action,” Key wrote. Taylor’s death wasn’t the first suspected overdose on an Atlantis cruise. “In recent years, at least two other people on Royal Caribbean ships—and perhaps many more— have died similarly. One of them was my friend Spencer Yu, in 2009,” Key wrote. “If
three people had died from drug overdoses at a nightclub on land, that club would be shut down, but on Atlantis-chartered ships, the parties continue and the number of deaths keep growing.” Key said that he and Center COO Darrel Cummings met with Atlantis Events president Rich Campbell to discuss “ways to protect other passengers from Spencer’s fate.” They asked Campbell to have onboard medical staff experienced in caring for passengers who might accidentally overdose, common at all-night circuit-type parties. “I was stunned when he refused our request, saying ‘that’s news to me’ in regard to my comments about the wide use of drugs on his cruises,” Key wrote. “[I]f Royal Caribbean continues to operate ships for Atlantis, you—and the head of Holland America and other cruise lines chartered by his company—must take action to prevent any more needless deaths. If you remain complicit, you’ll have on your hands the blood of those who die on future cruises.” When the Los Angeles Blade attempted to interview Campbell, his assistant politely but firmly said, “we won’t comment” on Taylor’s death. When pressed, he added: “that’s all I can tell you. You have to contact the cruise line. They’re doing PR.” The Blade tried again, with no response. Royal Caribbean’s Torres emailed this
statement: “We have a zero tolerance policy for the use or possession of illegal drugs on our ships. Ship charters are held to the same strict standards. We operate with the health and safety of our guests and crew as our highest priority, and we cooperate fully with law enforcement when we are aware of violations.” Torres followed up with a nighttime phone call to the Blade, adamantly repeating the same points. He said that without a toxicology report and law enforcement confirmation, “no one knows” how Taylor died. Torres said Royal Caribbean is working with local law enforcement regarding violations of their drug policy. The Blade has unsuccessfully attempted to contact the Puerto Rico Police Department, which has been overwhelmed with an increase in crime since Hurricane Maria. “The time for Royal Caribbean’s president and the president of Atlantis to pretend people aren’t using drugs should have stopped after the first drug-related death (that I know of), nine years ago,” Key told the Blade. “The only question is how will they care for people who have overdosed? Telling passengers Royal Caribbean has zero tolerance for drug use won’t stop people from using, but it does make it even less likely they’ll seek medical care on the ship.” The next Atlantis Events cruise leaves Feb. 18.