karl_nj

I think the key bit is that Cancel for Any Reason is different then Interruption for Any Reason, and you found a rare policy that covers both.  I didn't even know that existed.  Looks like Travel Insured may also have this special coverage.
So if your dog isn't getting along with the other dogs in the Kennel, you can come home early.  But you need to give Fido 2 days to try to adjust before you give up on the trip.
And the other key bit we have learned is that every policy is slightly different, and it pays to read the fine print.
The aggravating part is that twangster also seems like a person who reads the fine print, and is very careful with details, but he is still having issues with his claim.
 

I've never been able to justify buying the drink packages, at any price.  My bar bill has never been anywhere near what the drink package would cost.
If I do ever buy the drink package, I'm sure I would be able to get my money's worth.  I would have fancy coffee every morning, I would focus on trying the $12 or $13 dollar cocktails, I would get lots of bottled water.  I would consume enough so that if I was paying list price for every drink, I would come out ahead.
But this is not my normal behavior on a cruise.  My wife and I will get a fancy coffee once or twice on a cruise.  And we will use our C&A BOGO coupon for coffee, so we only need to pay for one.  The rest of the time we just drink the regular, included, coffee.  We will also use our BOGO wine/soda/beer coupons.  Generally we will just use those on beers, on sea days.  With the coupon each beer will cost me $3.50.  We generally book balcony cabins, and bring 2-4 bottles of wine onboard.  So our pre-dinner drink will be a glass of our BOYB wine on the balcony.  At dinner we will usually share a bottle of wine, especially if we are traveling with other people.  A wine that is $12 a glass is only $46 a bottle.  5 glasses of wine in a bottle, so $9.20/glass.  After dinner we will sometimes get a cocktail.  At Boleros I enjoy the Caribbean Painkiller.  $9.50.  If I'm on the drink plan, will I feel compelled to switch to a $12 in order to "get my money's worth?"  I've never bought a bottle of water on a cruise ship.  The tap water is fine with me.  I've read tips that say if you are on the drink package to get a bottle of water with every drink, so you can stay hydrated.  Bartenders will also give you a glass of ice water with every drink, and that is free.
I'd rather just pay per drink.  If my consumption habits were naturally closer to the $12/drink level, and I drank cappuccinos every morning, I might feel differently.
 

I've never been able to justify buying the drink packages, at any price.  My bar bill has never been anywhere near what the drink package would cost.
If I do ever buy the drink package, I'm sure I would be able to get my money's worth.  I would have fancy coffee every morning, I would focus on trying the $12 or $13 dollar cocktails, I would get lots of bottled water.  I would consume enough so that if I was paying list price for every drink, I would come out ahead.
But this is not my normal behavior on a cruise.  My wife and I will get a fancy coffee once or twice on a cruise.  And we will use our C&A BOGO coupon for coffee, so we only need to pay for one.  The rest of the time we just drink the regular, included, coffee.  We will also use our BOGO wine/soda/beer coupons.  Generally we will just use those on beers, on sea days.  With the coupon each beer will cost me $3.50.  We generally book balcony cabins, and bring 2-4 bottles of wine onboard.  So our pre-dinner drink will be a glass of our BOYB wine on the balcony.  At dinner we will usually share a bottle of wine, especially if we are traveling with other people.  A wine that is $12 a glass is only $46 a bottle.  5 glasses of wine in a bottle, so $9.20/glass.  After dinner we will sometimes get a cocktail.  At Boleros I enjoy the Caribbean Painkiller.  $9.50.  If I'm on the drink plan, will I feel compelled to switch to a $12 in order to "get my money's worth?"  I've never bought a bottle of water on a cruise ship.  The tap water is fine with me.  I've read tips that say if you are on the drink package to get a bottle of water with every drink, so you can stay hydrated.  Bartenders will also give you a glass of ice water with every drink, and that is free.
I'd rather just pay per drink.  If my consumption habits were naturally closer to the $12/drink level, and I drank cappuccinos every morning, I might feel differently.
 

I've never been able to justify buying the drink packages, at any price.  My bar bill has never been anywhere near what the drink package would cost.
If I do ever buy the drink package, I'm sure I would be able to get my money's worth.  I would have fancy coffee every morning, I would focus on trying the $12 or $13 dollar cocktails, I would get lots of bottled water.  I would consume enough so that if I was paying list price for every drink, I would come out ahead.
But this is not my normal behavior on a cruise.  My wife and I will get a fancy coffee once or twice on a cruise.  And we will use our C&A BOGO coupon for coffee, so we only need to pay for one.  The rest of the time we just drink the regular, included, coffee.  We will also use our BOGO wine/soda/beer coupons.  Generally we will just use those on beers, on sea days.  With the coupon each beer will cost me $3.50.  We generally book balcony cabins, and bring 2-4 bottles of wine onboard.  So our pre-dinner drink will be a glass of our BOYB wine on the balcony.  At dinner we will usually share a bottle of wine, especially if we are traveling with other people.  A wine that is $12 a glass is only $46 a bottle.  5 glasses of wine in a bottle, so $9.20/glass.  After dinner we will sometimes get a cocktail.  At Boleros I enjoy the Caribbean Painkiller.  $9.50.  If I'm on the drink plan, will I feel compelled to switch to a $12 in order to "get my money's worth?"  I've never bought a bottle of water on a cruise ship.  The tap water is fine with me.  I've read tips that say if you are on the drink package to get a bottle of water with every drink, so you can stay hydrated.  Bartenders will also give you a glass of ice water with every drink, and that is free.
I'd rather just pay per drink.  If my consumption habits were naturally closer to the $12/drink level, and I drank cappuccinos every morning, I might feel differently.
 

I think they are only banned on DCL.

There is a select all button at the top.  Then you hit download.  Then you download one big zip file of all your photos:
This is way easier then the old method, where you had to go fight the crowds after 9pm on the night before your cruise, and hope they actually put the photos on the USB drive.
 

At the port in Bayonne they always ask me for proof that I have two cabins, once they notice I have 4 bottles of wine in my wheeled carry-on.
 

This is a huge deciding factor us.  We love to walk around there and along the water.  There is also a park right next to Bayside.  Perfect for a walk after dinner.  I can't wait to go back there in July!

I’ll second this one, the Doubletree next door or the Hilton across the street (connected by a bridge).  Not sure if you have a preference on hotel chain but if not here are a few items to consider about these properties.  
- Easy access from the airport via the dolphin expressway.
- They tend to be close enough to the cruise port and the Bayside Marketplace.
- They tend to be a little less costly than the ones near the Intercontinental.
- if you are using Uber or taxi and don’t have a car there is a small mall between the Doubletree and the Marriott. Good enough for some small last minute items, if needed, and a few options for dining without leaving the property.
- All tend to have rooms that overlook the water and can see the cruise port.  So a great way to start the cruise experience.    

I love the Intercontinental Miami!  It is minutes (by car) away from the port.  Fantastic bay views.  Classy property.  With my kids though, I would not be as likely to stay there. 
There is also Holiday Inn just down the street from the Intercontinental that is more family friendly. 
Good options in the Miami Brickell area too.  Hampton Inn in Brickell is great for families.  There is also the new Hyatt Centric in Brickell that looks amazing and has a variety of different room types for families.  With my kids, I would likely choose the Hyatt Centric even though it is a bit further from the port. 
I haven't really researched South Beach as much so hopefully someone can give recommendations there.
Here are a few reviews by @Matt:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2018/06/11/intercontinental-miami-hotel-review
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2018/11/07/holiday-inn-port-of-miami-downtown-hotel-review
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2018/12/13/doubletree-hilton-grand-hotel-biscayne-bay-hotel-review
@Ralph, the port of Miami is not really set up in a way that you could walk there.  The ships dock on Dodge Island so you would likely need some sort of transportation to get there.

We stay at Marriott -Biscayne Bay
https://www.marriott.com/hotels/maps/travel/miabb-miami-marriott-biscayne-bay/

A few random thoughts about dining, just disembarked Anthem this AM.
This is our second cruise on Anthem, we also sailed one year ago, but the week after Easter instead of the week before Easter.
Was much more impressed with the food.   I still miss the "old" menus, but the food coming out of the kitchen this year was much better. Bread was not stale, like last year Fish of the Day was actually interesting.  Last year the fish rotated with the same sauce and sides.  This year every night was different.  We were very pleased with this change. We got stuck with My Time Dining, but it worked out fine.  I prefer to have the same wait staff for dinner.  I reserved the same time slot every night, so the maitre'd seemed to be able to pre-allocate our table into the system.  The only drawback compared to traditional is that you still need to wait in line, instead of going directly to your table, and you need to meet the rest of your party outside the restaurant, instead of at the table. I love Cafe Two70 for breakfast.  All sorts of fun breakfast sandwiches.  Smoked salmon is also available.  My wife and I would run down and have a nice breakfast there most mornings, then grab some cereal for my son and some donuts for my daughter to bring back up to the room.  Last year we only "discovered" Two70 breakfast on the last sea day.

Sorry to hear about all of your issues.  I was hoping to be able to read good news about your claim today (just disembarked off Anthem this AM).
I've never had to submit a travel insurance claim, so I can't say if any other insurance companies are better.  But I can say that I've been happy buying travel insurance from a travel insurance broker:  https://tripinsurancestore.com/
What I like about them is that you tell them all the information about our trip, and anything in particular you want to make sure you are insured against.  They will run the numbers for all of the various policies they sell from multiple vendors, and will make their recommendation.  
They also say that they will give you advice on the claims process in case you do need to submit a claim.
I kinda figure that similar to how it's better to use a travel agent then booking directly with the cruise line, it can't hurt to use an insurance broker instead of booking directly with the insurance company.  At minimum they would be able to give some advice on what to do if I run into issues during a claim.
Their website looks terrible, but they have been around forever.  Back when they started most websites looked like this ?  
 
 

Yes, that would be fine.  They will dressed better then some adults that are completely ignoring the dress code.
For formal night we usually ask my 13 year old to wear a navy blazer along with the khaki pants and button down collared shirt.  Sometimes I'll ask him to also put on a tie, and we usually have a pair of somewhat casual black loafers that fit him.  But that is mostly since I try to take advantage of the cruise to get a family photo done on formal night. 
If we are running late or have gotten a good photo the first formal night, he often skips the tie.  And if it turns out he grew out of his blazer, we just skip that for this cruise.  Same thing with the shoes -- he also generally wears all-black sneakers, so that works fine too.
I wouldn't stress about it too much.
There will be some kid in the room wearing flip flops, a t-shirt, and basketball shorts on formal night.

I forget if I saw it in April of 2018, but it was certainly there this time around.  It's in the area that does the salads at lunch time.  At breakfast it's a bagel station.  I generally ignore bagels on cruise ships since I live in the NY Metro Area and can get much better bagels on land.  But a toasted bagel-shaped roll certainly works as a lox delivery mechanism. 
 

A few random thoughts about dining, just disembarked Anthem this AM.
This is our second cruise on Anthem, we also sailed one year ago, but the week after Easter instead of the week before Easter.
Was much more impressed with the food.   I still miss the "old" menus, but the food coming out of the kitchen this year was much better. Bread was not stale, like last year Fish of the Day was actually interesting.  Last year the fish rotated with the same sauce and sides.  This year every night was different.  We were very pleased with this change. We got stuck with My Time Dining, but it worked out fine.  I prefer to have the same wait staff for dinner.  I reserved the same time slot every night, so the maitre'd seemed to be able to pre-allocate our table into the system.  The only drawback compared to traditional is that you still need to wait in line, instead of going directly to your table, and you need to meet the rest of your party outside the restaurant, instead of at the table. I love Cafe Two70 for breakfast.  All sorts of fun breakfast sandwiches.  Smoked salmon is also available.  My wife and I would run down and have a nice breakfast there most mornings, then grab some cereal for my son and some donuts for my daughter to bring back up to the room.  Last year we only "discovered" Two70 breakfast on the last sea day.

A few random thoughts about dining, just disembarked Anthem this AM.
This is our second cruise on Anthem, we also sailed one year ago, but the week after Easter instead of the week before Easter.
Was much more impressed with the food.   I still miss the "old" menus, but the food coming out of the kitchen this year was much better. Bread was not stale, like last year Fish of the Day was actually interesting.  Last year the fish rotated with the same sauce and sides.  This year every night was different.  We were very pleased with this change. We got stuck with My Time Dining, but it worked out fine.  I prefer to have the same wait staff for dinner.  I reserved the same time slot every night, so the maitre'd seemed to be able to pre-allocate our table into the system.  The only drawback compared to traditional is that you still need to wait in line, instead of going directly to your table, and you need to meet the rest of your party outside the restaurant, instead of at the table. I love Cafe Two70 for breakfast.  All sorts of fun breakfast sandwiches.  Smoked salmon is also available.  My wife and I would run down and have a nice breakfast there most mornings, then grab some cereal for my son and some donuts for my daughter to bring back up to the room.  Last year we only "discovered" Two70 breakfast on the last sea day.

A few random thoughts about dining, just disembarked Anthem this AM.
This is our second cruise on Anthem, we also sailed one year ago, but the week after Easter instead of the week before Easter.
Was much more impressed with the food.   I still miss the "old" menus, but the food coming out of the kitchen this year was much better. Bread was not stale, like last year Fish of the Day was actually interesting.  Last year the fish rotated with the same sauce and sides.  This year every night was different.  We were very pleased with this change. We got stuck with My Time Dining, but it worked out fine.  I prefer to have the same wait staff for dinner.  I reserved the same time slot every night, so the maitre'd seemed to be able to pre-allocate our table into the system.  The only drawback compared to traditional is that you still need to wait in line, instead of going directly to your table, and you need to meet the rest of your party outside the restaurant, instead of at the table. I love Cafe Two70 for breakfast.  All sorts of fun breakfast sandwiches.  Smoked salmon is also available.  My wife and I would run down and have a nice breakfast there most mornings, then grab some cereal for my son and some donuts for my daughter to bring back up to the room.  Last year we only "discovered" Two70 breakfast on the last sea day.

Well, for their credit I thought they did a good job with Immigration in Boston.  It was way more organized then my experience on Adventure last August in Bar Harbor.  That was a disaster.
Some of your points re: disorganization are valid:
I had MTD but had the same table every night.  Often I had to show the crew member bringing us to the table where it actually was. Announcing that formal night changed at 5:22pm was certainly interesting.   I assume the kitchen knew this ahead of time, since they had to start thawing the lobsters earlier that day, would have been nice to tell the passengers. They should really have a backup plan for when they have to cancel your North Star reservation.  That whole standby line thing is a huge mess.  
Many of the changes were due to weather issues, so I think we should give them a little slack on some of the last minute changes.
 
Overall I really enjoyed the cruise.
 

My experience has been that if you are getting a small about of OBC already (e.g. $25 or $50) and you are "entitled to", say, $100 from the Shareholder Benefit, they have recently been giving you enough OBC to bump you up to $100 in total.  So your best chances would be if you don't have any OBC from any other promotion.
Carnival corp is much more generous with their OBC.
 

Go check the prices for a Disney cruise that week.  That will make you feel better ?
 

Thanks!  I now think I need to book a cruise to Cuba...
 

What are you talking about?  All of my pictures are here...
Just Kidding - finally fixed them ? 

I'm not really sure that one can compare a BYOB restaurant in NJ, which doesn't have a liquor license and doesn't sell wine,  to the dining room on a Royal Caribbean ship,  which does sell wine.  If you bring a bottle of wine to a restaurant on land that is licensed to sell wine to customers, they are going to charge you a corkage fee no matter how your wine is sealed, cork or screw top.
 
 

I've been charged, occasionally, but it's sort of random.  Same thing on other cruise lines too, sometimes they charge, sometimes they don't.
If they don't charge me, I just add it to the cash tip I give them at the end of the cruise.  So in my case, either the cruise line gets the cash, or the wait staff does.