Since when is a ferry a cruise ship?

The ferry that we took from Bari to Greece was a 16 hour ride - and a nice one. Basically, we felt like we were on the Titanic.
Okay, it wasn't that nice, but definitely up there.
We spoiled ourselves and paid for a cabin so that we could sleep for hours and hours. And we did, almost 12 in fact. It was great.
But first, we did some exploring.
The "ferry" had a casino, a club, a cafeteria, and a fancy schmancy restaurant. It also had an outdoor bar, a small swimming pool, and a cafe inside the common lobby. We couldn't believe it!
People were parked everywhere - outside and in. We boarded just after 6 pm and some were already laying out sleeping bags for the night. And the lobby was so crowded. People sitting around tables, talking, laughing, smoking, eating, playing cards, and just having a good time together.
We walked around for awhile, and then headed into the fancy restaurant after seeing the prices were, surprisingly, really reasonable.
The meal was great. We had white wine, bread, and delicious greek salads. In Greece, greek salad usually does not include lettuce leaves. They slice lots of tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, add some olives and a block of feta cheese on top. Sprinkle on some herbs and then put oil and vinegar on the side for the customers. Leslie and I thought that was interesting, but agreed that it actually tasted better.
And that salad started a long line of many greek salads that we would eat in the next couple of days.
For dessert? Assorted cheeses. So European, right? It was a party...in my mouth.
We walked back to our cabin around midnight and the lobby was still jam-packed with people and so loud. I could just see the difference in Greek and Italian culture from that of the US. It was like a huge party in the middle of the lobby. People were just sitting around enjoying the late-night company of each other. I tried to think of a time when I witnessed that in the US. I'm still searching....
Our two roommates were already asleep, so we crawled into our beds and fell asleep to the soft rocking of the ship.