Well, the refund did go through before the weekend was out - it was credited to my account as refundable OBC and the amount remaining post-cruise was credited back to my card fairly promptly. I decided not to spend any of my vacation hunting down additional recompense, though. (I’m a lawyer, and negotiating consumer compensation remedies is the very essence of a busman’s holiday in my book!) Plus, I did find a nice little Deck 9 corner by the shuffleboard where I could enjoy a quiet deck chair in the shade - the only hardship was having to go around the corner to get my own beverages!
All in all, though, I don’t think I’ll be in a tearing hurry to get back on a HAL ship - instead, I’ll be saving my vacation pennies for more of my dearly-beloved QM2 transatlantics. (Now THERE’S a deck chair worth waiting for!)