Mark is it truly your point that cruising on the
cheap is hedonistic while cruising with more financial resources is not? If so, I think after you reconsider your statement you might agree that hedonism is not measured by whether you have the
money to fly home to see your parents on their death
bed. How each one of us deal with parental morbidity is not so easily catagorized. Rather it is a philosophical question and psychological process that will very drastically depending upon the facts. Therefore, it would be rather inappopriate to label you as hedonstic for cruising the
mediterranean instead of staying closer to your mom.
I will agree with you that if you have
children or aging parents, cruising without an
emergency fund to get you to their location is certainly irresponsible. However, the plane ticket fund is not part of monthly expense, but rather a fixed expense. An expense nontheless that all cruisers should prepare to fund before leaving.
But really Mark, hedonistic for not having the
money to fly home. Don't you think that for the most part all cruisers hedonistic. You and the
boat are a microcosm, how much more hedonistic can you get.