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Planning a trip in 2027

lanceholt

I am planning a trip for 2027, but my wife was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2025. I asked my travel agent if I could substitute my daughter for the trip if my wife was unable to travel. Tauck came back NO, no substitutions . Does anyone have a contact at Tauck to try and get exemption for a unfair policy/

Comments

British

If Tauck changes the rule for you, they set a president.
I guess you would have to book the tour for you and your wife, taking out the insurance, Then ‘cancel for any. Reason’ then rebook taking out new insurance. However, if there is a wait list, you might find yourself at the end of the Wait List.

Claudia Sails

I don't understand what the issue is wrt Tauck unless you had booked as a couple sharing a room and now want 2 singles which there may be limitations in the number and the price is different. Or a concern with who the guest protection was issued to. Unfortunately you are working through a TA so you aren't in a good position to question Tauck directly.

kfnknfzk

It is possible you were given misinformation. I recommend contacting Tauck directly and explaining your situation. Tauck is known for their exemplary customer service. Good luck to you.

British

I thought if you booked with a travel agent that you could not call Tauck directly.

MikeHenderson

I'm not sure I understand your situation. I'm assuming you have a tour booked with you and your wife for 2027. If so, you can cancel it with minimal loss - at most you would lose your deposit.

Then book the trip with you and your daughter.

But maybe what you want to do is wait until 2027 to see if your wife can travel and make the swap then if she can't. I doubt if you'll get agreement from Tauck for that. You'll have to make the decision now.

[ I don't know all the requirements, but if this is a land tour, you could purchase the "Cancel for any reason" insurance and get all your money back except the insurance payment when you decide your wife can't go. Then quickly re-book with you and your daughter before someone else get the opening you just created. But that won't work if it's a river or ocean cruise - you'd only get 50% of your money back.]

MikeHenderson

British - I thought if you booked with a travel agent that you could not call Tauck directly.

I'm sure Tauck will talk with your but to make changes, you'll have to go through your travel agent.

kfnknfzk

The gentleman is in the planning stage. He has not booked a trip.

MikeHenderson

If you haven't booked yet, I'd suggest you place a bet. Guess the most likely outcome for 2027 and make the reservation that way. So if you think your wife will be able to make the trip, book the trip with her and take the insurance that will allow you to cancel (if it's a land tour).

If she can't go, you can cancel and re-book with your daughter, and you lost the insurance premium.

If you think your wife won't be able to go, book with your daughter. If you wife is able to go, you can cancel, lose your insurance premium, and re-book with your wife.

If youi guessed right, stick with your reservation and you haven't lost anything.

In either case - assuming you're booking a land tour - your maximum loss is the insurance premium.

If you want to book a river cruise, things don't work out as well for you. You'll have to make a decision today and stick with it or have a much greater loss.

[Incidentally, all tour companies that I've traveled with do not allow you to substitute travelers - this is not just Tauck. Once you've made the reservation, given all the information on the travelers, and paid your deposit, you can't change it. You can only cancel the reservation and make a new reservation, which may be at a different price, assuming you got an early booking discount.]

lanceholt

Thanks Mike. Very insightful. The trip I'm looking at is the Great Lakes tour.

MikeHenderson

@lanceholt - Good luck. I'm very sorry to learn of your wife's diagnosis. It's a tough situation.

MikeHenderson

One more idea. You can cancel a cruise 120 days before the start of the cruise and you only lose your deposit. This forces you to make a decision about four months before the cruise but you should have a good idea of the possibilities by then.

If you make the reservation with your wife and decide at that four month mark that she won't be able to make the cruise, you can cancel the trip and only lose your deposit. I suspect you don't really want to do the cruise with your daughter - you'd only do that as a fallback - so you can just take the refund and not do the cruise at all.

Whatever you decide, I hope things work out for you.