The auto-tip goes to a lot more people than the dining and cabin attendants. Tips are spread around so that the cruise lines don't have to pay as much of their wages anymore. And since the ships aren't registered in too many countries that have good wage labor laws, they can get away with paying them horrifically little. At least compared to western standards.

I always tip extra. Specialty restaurant and dining room servers after the meal and cabin attendants at the end of the cruise. A 15% service charge is added to bar bills, but I may slip in a buck or two.

I have been in the service industry for most of my life, plus I know what these people have to do on a daily basis with no days off. I am more than happy to make their work a bit more rewarding.

The extra is really marginal. $1/cabin/day?

I guess I can't comment on other cruise lines, but on NCL (which we pretty much cruise exclusively...we like the freedom to choose a different dinner time everyday, and to be able to sit at a table for 2 instead of with a bunch of people we don't know), the daily service charge (or auto-tip) is the same across the board no matter what type of state room you're in (its not higher if you're in a suite, for example, or lower if you're in an inside cabin).

It may be different on other cruise lines, although I dont think so (heading over to cruisecritic to see what the experts have to say...).

Tipping policies vary by cruiselines so it's always best not to assume that what happens on your favorite line happens on other lines. Some have autotip, some do not. Some pool tips but not all. And yes some have higher tip amounts (or service charges depending on what they call it) depending on your stateroom category.

On Royal Caribbean (which does not have autotip - there is an option to add them to your onboard account or prepay but neither is automatic, unless you are in My Time Dining), those staying in grand suites or higher categories do pay more to their stateroom attendant than those in regular categories (or junior suites). Also, on RCCL the tips are not pooled, except for those working in My Time Dining. And on RCCL the tips cover your Stateroom Attendant, Headwaiter, Waiter, and Assistant Waiter and that's it.

Celebrity and Princess also have larger amounts for those in suites I believe.

Tip the Waiter
 

We cruise every year with a family and friends group of about 7+. Once you find a good head waiter at your favorite restaurant on the ship, give him/her a $20 tip on the first evening. From the rest of the cruise, ask to be seated in his/her area, and you will get the best dinner treatment all the way, especially on Lobster night. Think about each person eating 5, 6 or 7 lobsters without fuss. They will keep coming all night. Tip again at the end of the cruise. I have found this to be the best use of my tipping money on cruises. DR

It varies with cruise lines, from those that include "suggested" (usually means they will remove from the bill only if you demand it) tips to those that are all inclusive. Using two small ship cruise lines as an example, Windstar Cruises adds $12 ppdo to your bill for tips and 15% service charge to beverages, while Paul Gauguin includes all gratuities.

If we get spectacular cabin service, we'll probably tip as much as $10 per cabin per day extra.

Tipping varies hugely by culture and we Brits tend to be typically in the middle here. North Americans are the World's biggest tippers. They expect to tip and the cruise line expects it too. Hence this discussion about tipping on top of tips! In the Far East, offering a tip can be offensive and will in most situations be flatly refused.

We Brits are more likely to tip for very good service rather than out of expectation and we are more likely to 'leave the change' rather than coldly calculate a fixed percentage. In Turkey, you tip only for favour when you arrive and never for service when you leave. Most Mediterranean countries do not have a tipping culture at all.

The net effect is where tips are expected, wages are lower than they otherwise would be. The most expensive hotels can always pay lower wages to their front-line staff because the staff expect to make more in tips.

Should you pay tips on top of tips? I find leaving auto-tips on covers the cultural expectation whatever the line or ship and a few personal presents here and there covers the 'above the expected' and is a more lasting and memorable token of appreciation.

I may be in the minority here, but I always tip extra - dining room staff and cabin stewards usually at the end of the cruise, bar staff with each drink. I have always found that tipping bar staff well early on results in better drinks for the rest of the cruise, and even comped drinks now and then. $1-2 per drink in cash on top of the auto-gratuity on the signed bill goes a long way.

We tip the kids club at the end of the week if there was great service.

We recently spent 2 weeks in Indonesia where many of the staff come from. If someone has a non-skill job they are making $150-$300 a month. And that can be a living wage if they have family property.

The point is, we need to be careful about putting our own cultural bias/expectations.

Many of the cruise ship workers are making a very good wage compared to what they would make back home and are extremely grateful for the "high" income.