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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!)

One more data point: I was able to pick a specific cabana from the ones that were available when I booked, but nobody else was copied on the email.

I think they just only have the names on the list they got from the home office, and have no idea that overbooking has happened until people start showing up who aren’t on their list. I feel sorry for the cabana attendants, who inevitably get caught in the middle…

So I didn’t hear back from anyone yesterday, so I went to Guest Services to explain the situation. Apparently, multiple cabanas were overbooked by the head office (!), so they’re trying to arrange for us unlucky ones to get our money back via refundable OBC, though it’s unlikely to happen until next week. I’ll report back when (if? I’m not entirely confident at this point) the credit arrives in my account.

Haven’t heard anything yet, but ’ll let y’all know what happens when I do.

Thanks, Mary. This is only my second time cruising with them - the first time I came down with covid on day 2 and was confined to my cabin for almost the entire cruise. (I’m beginning to think that HA may be cursed for me…)

What the heck? I just got on board Rotterdam, only to find out that the Retreat cabana I reserved (and paid five hundred bucks for) back in June has been assigned to someone else, and there’s nothing available now. That cabana was the primary reason I booked this cruise - I was even offered a free Panama Canal cruise by my cruise specialist, but turned it down because there ware no Retreat spots available (I’m super-pale, and absolutely need shade when I’m outdoors.) So now I’m in a tiny single cabin with no cabana, and I am DISGRUNTLED. The cabana supervisor is apparently going to call me later this afternoon, so stay tuned. Anyway, don’t book an HA cruise assuming that you’re going to actually get the cabana you booked and paid for.