This whole topic drives me wild!
First, it is important to note that the service providers on all cruise ships are not well paid. This is the cruise lines' fault but cruise lines keep their costs low by not paying their service providers well, but this is true of virtually all industries providing personal service, restaurants, spas, you name it. The corporations rely on the customers to supplement their employees wages with tips.
Second, the $10 a day, per person, on NCL doesn't even begin to cover the number of direct service providers that you encounter each day on a cruise--2-3 cabins stewards, 2-3 waiters per meal, buffet staff, etc. I counted a minimum of 11 people providing direct service each day on my recent cruise to Alaska. That works out to less than $1 per day per server (excluding cocktails and other up-sell items). Then there are the non-direct service providers, dish washers, cooks, laundry people, etc.
On cruise lines that don't have an auto tip policy, traditional tipping is fine (except those non-direct service providers don't get anything), but as noted earlier in this thread, with Free Style you don't have the same servers at each meal.
I view the $10 a day, per person, as tips for the non-direct service providers and tip direct service providers in the traditional amounts, adding more for excellent service. Needless to say, I don't give tips for bad/inadequate service. My feeling is if you receive bad service, complain and don't give additional tips to that server.
Also, reducing the auto tip because of missing ports is just cheap! The crew has no control over canceled ports. If you want reimbursement for missed ports contact the cruise line directly, don't punish the real people who have worked to make your cruise enjoyable by reducing their income.
