Exactly this. (Not to get off topic from Cruise travel vs Flight travel) I had flights booked in April for a trip to Aruba that had 1 layover, American Airlines cancelled from my layover city to Aruba and my return flight from Aruba to my layover city...BUT they kept my originating city I was flying from to my layover city (and vice versa for my return)...I contacted AA because I had been reading the horror stories (like yours above) where the airlines started playing games with people saying "you cancelled, not us, so here is your credit, not refund", and the customer support was atrocious, basically telling me I needed to cancel then use the "request a refund" tool on the website...I was hesitant, but it worked out in my favor without issue.
This game of chicken that the airlines are playing with people is concerning to say the least.