The woman didn't sound that surprised -- actually she sounded relieved. And she said that other people had also encountered this problem. I did tell her that I'd called ABTA too so maybe that also played a part in her very sympathetic response
I did explain to her that there were important emotional reasons for wanting to go to Spitzbergen -- my mother and father booked to go there last year but didn't go due to the untimely and sudden death of my father. So my mum and I were going as a sort of memorial to him. I was a bit embarrassed explaining this but I thought it was important to mention that the cruise was only booked because it was going to Spitzbergen!
I'll let you know how it goes!