Culturally Australia vehemently rejects tipping. Passionately. So much so that Carinaval and Princess cruises had to abolish the practice entirely on their ships.
Granted, our laws are different and staff are legally paid a solid minimum wage ($25 per hour) so tipping isn't the way people make a living here.
Practices that are seen as a "slippery slope" into tipping are outright rejected.
So what did Disney do?
Disney, rather than folding gratuities into the price, continued their standard gratuity practice. Aussies hated it. Cast members have complained about the number of passengers removing tips from their account. Other passengers are just angry when they are hit with the gratuity info at the end of their cruise, seeing the product as already too expensive.
Disney could have avoided this entirely whilst still ensuring that their crew get paid, simply by using cultural awareness and adding the cost differently and at the time of booking. Heck, a pre-emptive 'service fee' would have been accepted. Since the tips are also in USD, with the exchange rate... crew don't love their Australian contracts.
