So You Don’t Like the Wine (Or: You Think the Cruise Line is Responsible for Guests Behaving Badly?)

Here is a look at the “glamorous” side of superyachting:

Ukrainian forced to settle 86,000 euro bar bill
The friend of the father of one of the six men who left a Sardinian bar on a 70m (230ft) yacht without paying the €86,000 bill, has now settled the debt.

Six young Russians ordered more than ninety bottles of champagne at former F1 boss Flavio Briatore’s Billionaire bar in Porto Cervo last week. The tab was under the name of the yacht they were on, Kismet.

When the Russians left the bar without paying, the director of Billionaire reported the incident to the police. The captain of Kismet was then contacted by the military and the yacht prevented from leaving Sardinia.

When the six Russians disappeared, the Italian police considered impounding the yacht until the bill was paid. The captain of Kismet and the yacht’s management company also risked legal proceedings.

A bank transfer from the Ukraine covering the whole bill has, however, settled the matter.

Secrecy surrounds the identity of the group who ran up the bill. Italian newspapers report that a resolution was achieved only after mediation from lawyers and informal diplomatic contact through embassies.

Superyacht Business, 5 September 2011


Just imagine the impact of these charterers on the innocent captain, crew and superyacht owner!  They did nothing other than take paying guests to a port and they wound up with a diplomatic incident and a huge bar tab…while the captain,  the yacht and the management company were going to be held accountable.


Now, remember the times you read about how the cruise lines have allegedly failed someone because of a misbehaving guest.  This may give you a bit of perspective that maybe that is a bit unfair.  (Not always, but some times.)