I just read that the top 3 cruise lines will be raising their daily "gratuities". These fees are gratuities that are split between the stewardess, waiter, room service delivery guy, and/ or the towel dude, and a few others. Of course they can be male or female.
At first I was thinking $3 is a little too much but if the service is top notch they deserve it. We are very clean and I'm a freak about keeping our room organized. Like my life it's organized chaos. The most we need is towels, a vacuum, and a wipe down. We are the easy room. I actually saw multiple stewards exiting a room with a face mask on. I would say a little prayer for them as I walked by. Some people are disgusting and we know this. No dollar amount could get me in there to clean up after them. Being a stewardess/ steward is a hard job. I once was told they had to clean a bowel movement out of a sink. Gross! And you don't want to tip?
If you want to be cheap than I suggest you find something other to do than cruise.
On our last day at sea, I met some people who told me they went to guest services and had their tips removed. I mostly think it was because they got nicer as they got drunker and tipped, then at the end of the cruise they were over budget. That is so rude! Straight ignorance.
You probably got served first from your tips and you take them back? Some people are just morons. I paid my 18% and left a tip each day to someone. When we walked up to a packed bar we would be noticed and served right away. The drinks got stronger, the staff got friendlier. Everyone called my husband by name.
The men and woman working on a cruise ship are paid nickels and pennies. They don't see their families for months and never get to travel like we do. My daughter always leaves a note and picture, plus we leave a tip of $10 or more depending on the service. Our steward barely touched our clean room but when I needed a towel he was on it. He was no Ms. Karen (our first stewardess) but he was great. It's really just human decency. However, these days so many are lacking this.
Remember cruise ships are registered to foreign countries so they have no minimum wage like an American ship would have. So take care of the people taking care of you. We are all part of the same world. The world is really small, so just think of us all riding in the same big boat.
