What if I have to change reservation suddenly?

[Kendallkat2]

I have reservations starting on Friday, July 4th. My mother has taken a turn for the worst and we expect her to die soon. She has been ill for a long time and has been in a nursing home for over a year.
So my question is... What if I have to change my reservations and cancell some days because of funeral arrangements? I have reservations at BCV. Would I loose those points? Also what about airline reservations that we have for Friday morning? Would I be able to transfer them for a later date without too much of a cost? And... what about my car rental...? Would I have to cancell my reservation, make another which would cost me a considerable amount? I have an excellent rate right now.
I know I shouldn't even be thinking about these things because of my mother but I just can't help it. We were so looking forward to this vacation that the added disappointment to our grief is very burdening. Just writing this post has helped to see if someone could give me some answers.

Thanks, Beth

 

[CarolA]

I am sorry to hear about your Mom.

DVC has proven to be VERY good in working with members when this type of crisis has come up in the past. If something does happen just give the office a call and I bet they can help you.

As for your airline ticket, that is a NIGHTMARE. The new rules are that you must REBOOK before your original flight is scheduled to leave and pay $100 for that plus any fare difference. I have heard one story on the transporatation board of someone getting lucky and getting the airline to waive this mess, but I would not count on it. Who are you flying?

 

[PamOKW]

I'm very sorry to hear your mother is so ill. "By the book" your points would go into a Holding Account to be used for reservations made no more than 60 days in advance and they must be used before the end of your Use Year. If you cancel on your actual check-in day, or do not cancel at all, you will lose the points.

The airlines have various rules about re-booking and most involve a $100 change fee per ticket in addition to paying any difference in the fare. Rental car penalties vary but may allow you to cancel 24 hours in advance without a penalty.

That said, if the worst happens and your mother does pass away, contact DVC, the airline and the rental company and explain the situation. With proof from the funeral home, they may all work out a special circumstance plan with you. Carol is correct that DVC has been particularly good about handling these type of situations.

 

[Pa@okw95]

First, I saw a loved one die, it took her about a year from the on set of the knowledge of the problem. I don't have a solution to your problem- I see that you have 3 different reservations for July. Watching someone die is a very draining situation to those close to the loved one that is dying. The problem with written words is they are often taken the wrong way or the way the writer did not intend them to be taken. You might want to consider deleting this post and just calling MS to find out what you can do, as for the airlines I believe that if you can produce some proof of your they might consider doing something for you. The car rental you can always cancel without any problem. My advice is go be with your mother and forget about the July vacations you have planned. It is a tough situation--I will say a prayer for your mother-I will be in her situation soon enough myself. Be with your mother.

 

[Lisa F]

You might want to look into travel insurance. I'm not sure how far in advance you need to purchase it but if you can still purchase some, it would be worth the peace of mind. You will probably not be able to get insurance for your points but as people have said, MS will probably be willing to work with you (at least you will have the 60 day holding account), but you may be able to protect yourself against trip interruption and recoup your plane ticket costs (and also they will get you home if need be for the funeral).

As far as another poster's advice to just forget about the trip, you need to follow your heart. My husband's grandmother (to whom i'd become very close in the almost 10 years that I knew her) was in a similar situation. She took a turn for the worst and was going to go "any day now" about a month before our cruise last january. We spoke at length with my inlaws about whether we should cancel our cruise just "in case" (since it is so difficult to get back from a cruise as opposed to just florida) and my inlaws told us in no uncertain terms that grandma would NOT want us to just sit around with our hands in our laps waiting for her to die. She was always the kind of woman who embraced life and the opportunities it presented her (and even made a bunch of opportunities for herself when they weren't presented) and she spent her life instilling that into everyone who was fortunate enough to have known her.

It turned out that she had an upswing for a few more months and we did get to visit with her again and she was lucid enough to recognize us (she had not been in January), and then she passed away peacefully a couple of weeks later. We bought travel insurance for our cruise "just in case" so we had the option of returning, but even so we were encouraged to stay put if she passed away while we were on our cruise by the whole family. As difficult as it is to see a loved one go (and we still miss her horribly) life must go on and if part of your life going on is taking a vacation with your family then don't let anyone judge you or your motives. Sometimes it just seems that all you can do is hope for the best, be prepared for the worst and live today as if it might be your last.

Lisa

 

[kathleena]

PM sent to original poster

 

[DisneyMeMa]

Kendallkat2, I am so sorry to hear about your mom. I am sure this is a very difficult time for you. I'll try to briefly tell you our experience. In 2000 my DH & I went on the 7 day Disney cruise. Our children and their families were to join us at OKW on our Saturday return. Probably due to my DH corporate training, we always try to give our families a pretty detailed itinerary, and I am particularly thankful we did for that trip. My mother died unexpectedly on Friday morning - the day we were at Castaway Cay. My DS, DD-I-L, DD & DS-I-L were able to contact MS and cancel all our OKW reservations with our reservation numbers with basically no questions asked. The points went into a holding account. They arranged our return flight (Continental Airlines), and as far as I know, with no additional fees. They also took care of their own travel - they were flying to MCO from OK and LA on Saturday and this was Friday morning. They had taken care of all of this before they were able to reach us to tell us about my mother. I am very grateful to them for taking care of these details for us, and because they had the necessary information they were able to do it. I am so fortunate to have wonderful "kids" and grandkids and it was very comforting to have them here in Texas upon our return home.