Urban legend…
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I thought so, especially since tipping is much less common in England/GB.
It turns out the Puzzler question about “Posh” also relies on an urban legend:
Is the Word ‘Posh’ a Shortening of ‘Port Out, Starboard Home’? | Snopes.com
I haven’t been able to verify this, but as someone with a graduate degree in philology (history of language) I am convinced that it was always a simple gratuity and was often used by the recipient to buy a drink (tipple, to drink alcoholic beverages, still in use but not common). I am convinced of this origin because a similar word exists for “tip” in various European languages: pourboire (Fr), trinkgeld (German), propina (Sp).
I have an issue with the linked article.
It seems to dismiss the potential for TIPS being an acronym for "To I(e)nsure Proper/prompt Service because it cannot affect the level of service after the fact:
Some maintain that a tip is not furnished ahead of time, so the above explication does not disprove the acronymic claim. In that case one once again has to wonder where the ‘insure’ part of the false etymologies comes from, since the act being recognized with a gratuity has already been carried out. The service was either good or it wasn’t; no gratuity, no matter how large, enables anyone to go back into time and ‘insure’ that whatever has already taken place will be satisfactory.
The point seemingly missed is that the prospect of a larger gratuity is what drives server performance before the gratuity is rendered.
Tips are most certainly adjusted based on the level of service received. At least by me 
There used to be a radio talk show host here that used the topic of “tipping” whenever his scheduled guest failed to show. Or if the guest was no good and had to be booted off the air mid-program. All he had to do was say “let’s talk about tipping” and the phones would start to ring … lol … seems there are many folks who otherwise don’t hold strong opinions on most subjects, but do on tipping.
Well sorry but I really don’t care how or why it came from. I tip just as a means to show appreciation. Restaurants sure and my barber. But I tipped the carpet layer and even the guy that took some trees down. No mechanic yet though.
No idea if the English word “posh” is related to the “port out, starboard home” abbreviation, but in the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang one of the songs uses “POSH” in the lyrics, in the boat-trip context. Another curious thing is why is “starboard” on the right? I believe that term refers to the steering wheel side. Do all boats position the steering wheel on the right, irrespective of the convention for the country’s cars?
No, ships typically had the wheel in the center of the deck. Starboard referred to the location of the rudder several hundred years ago, before it was moved to the center line of the ship.
Look at Viking ships, no rudder but a “steering board” mounted on the right side. Over the years became starboard. Like forecastle became fo’c’sle.
Ships usually have their wheel in the center.
Ok, I admit to be nitpicking, but from what I can tell by surfing the net on this topic the “board” in “starboard” isn’t referring to a board ; i.e. the actual rudder. It refers to the side of the boat. The term translates to “steering side”; i.e. the side of the boat the rudder is on, but not the actual rudder. Apparently there’s a boating safety convention that when two boats are on crossing paths, the ship to the right gets the right-of-way, similar to US vehicle code. So I can see
some advantage to the place the captain stands being toward the right side of the ship, b/c it is easier to see another ship coming from the right.
From https://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk
In the Viking Age, the rudder on ships and boats sat on the starboard side (the name deriving from styrbord, the Norse term the boards (planks) in the side where you steer the boat, hence, steering-board). This gave rise to some challenges, one of which was the shape of the rudder; the other was the manner in which the rudder could be attached to the ship.
On a ship the Captain sets course and speed, the helmsman does the steering.
