So, I think that there should be a vacation option for an entire character's life. If you somehow survive to 2+ years, you get to just keep going, but when you DO eventually bite it, your old character does eventually return.
Also, I think that there should be vacations for a period of time (maybe lost in the Bermuda Triangle or something) and one should get as many characters as you want during this period of time. If I am seriously burned out on Sindome, and decide to take a break and do something else like a completely different character, being permed three weeks in still leaves me burned out on the old character and zero options.
Honestly the thought of being permed two weeks into a vacation character is one of the reasons I'd be hesitant to take one. If the vacation is supposed to be a breath of fresh air, clamping the bag back over the head after single breath isn't exactly cool and would leave me even more burned out than before.
Now, granted with this option you'd be locked out of your old character regardless of how many characters you cycle through, but at the same time I think some players being given a bevy of purely expendable characters can create the chaos and conflict that so many people say are lacking.