So,, here is a question .... do you remove gratuities for bad service?
In the normal world, if a server does a good job, they will get the normal gratuity which to me is 15%. If a server goes above and beyond, I will tip extra, up to 20%. However, if a server is terrible, I would not hesitate to remove all gratuity.
Would I do this on a cruise ship? Probably not. I have issue with the fact that the cruiseline pays low wages, and we have to be responsible for part of the remuneration. On the other hand, I also appreciate my low cruising fares. So, I sit on the fence. What concerns me is that while I may do my part to tip responsibly - others do not. I think I might prefer paying an extra couple of hundred dollars for my fare, so that everyone tips equally and those funds go directly to wages - ... a perfect world.
So, back to my original question ..... I have never removed gratuities in their entirety for bad service. However, I've been fortunate enough to never encounter bad service. The worst service was probably my wait team on the Carnival DReam ... but that had more to do with a personality clash. I coudln't stand the guy - he rubbed me the wrong way from the very beginning. He blew it at the end when he lied and told me he did not get the auto-gratuities and if we were happy with his service we should pay him cash. He also attempted to make me feel very guilty by trying to engage me in a conversation of how much my house was worth, and how he could never afford to live in CAnada. We reduced the auto-tips, and then cash-tipped his partner the busboy who we were very happy with.