Yes, you get 3 boxes instead of one. As far as difficulty, people should keep in mind that for "soloers", this is meant to be the most challenging encounter in the game. (As it's the hardest solo encounter in EQ2), it really wouldn't leave you with much of a challenge for the rest of the expac if you could do it easily on the first try.
Ah good to hear, I was going to /bug it today if it still occurred. Finals have been eating up a lot of my time.