My partner and I were recently booked on a cruise to the Caribbean through Carnival Cruise Lines. We flew to Miami two days early. That first evening, I slipped and fell. I broke my tibial plateau into several pieces, requiring immediate surgery. We had to cancel the cruise.

Our online travel agent told us to write Carnival a letter explaining the circumstances and inquiring about rescheduling the cruise or getting a refund. We just found out that Carnival has decided to award us half our money back in shipboard credits if we book another cruise. I find this "resolution" utterly unacceptable. We just want to go on the vacation that we paid for.

Jeff Allen, Denver

Carnival's ticket contract — the legal agreement between you and the cruise line — is clear about your rights. Check out paragraph six: "No refunds will be made in the event of 'no shows,' unused tickets, lost tickets, interruptions, partially-used tickets, or cancellations received late or after the start of the cruise," it says, adding, "Carnival strongly recommends the purchase of trip cancellation insurance from your travel agent."

Your travel agent should have recommended a comprehensive insurance policy. That almost certainly would have covered your return airfare, medical attention you received in Miami and your cruise fare.

There's a good business reason why a cruise line would deny a request like yours: It can't resell your cabin when you're a no-show.

But there's an equally compelling customer-service reason to cut you a little slack. The goodwill would go a long way to ensuring you're a repeat cruiser. You would also tell your friends and family about how compassionate Carnival was, and that might persuade them to try a cruise.

Someone at Carnival apparently thought a compromise would work best. I thought it was a good offer, but could Carnival do better?

When Carnival re-examined your file, it found that it had miscalculated your refund, which gave you a $545 cruise credit instead of a $528 credit. That's the good news. The bad news? It's sticking to a 50 percent refund toward a future cruise.

Christopher Elliott is the ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler magazine. You can read more travel tips on his blog, elliott.org, or e-mail him at celliott@ngs.org.