I can't say for others, but I have never seen a tile installer use masking tape before grouting. However, we have also never installed tile in an area where there is no baseboard. I would think with no baseboard, something would have to be done or it should have been noted and you informed that painting the walls after tile installation would be needed. (During a remodel, it is normal for us to paint baseboards after the tile installation so I guess walls would be the same expectation.)

As far as cupping, yes it is normal in all large format tiles regardless of whether they are rectangular or square. It has become a huge issue since large format tiles became so popular. Given that the cupping is caused by the firing process used to manufacture the tile, I don't see where a leveling system will mitigate that. Generally tiles are laid at a 1/3 offset to mitigate the issue - and it appears that yours are 1/3 offset from the photos. While it is an issue, we have not found a single manufacturer that will warranty against lippage issues or allow return of the tile if it is received and cupping is considered to be too extreme to install without lippage.

Haze can be removed with a specific product manufactured for that purpose. It can be purchased at any tile specialty store. Folks on Houzz talk about having 1/16" grout lines and frankly in a large floor installation I have never seen it where there isn't some inconsistency. I would say that what you have is normal and looks good. As far as the white stuff in the grout lines, I have not seen that and am not sure what would cause it. There are grout stains made that can be painted on the grout to darken it again, but I can't imagine how long it would take to do a whole floor.

Thanks guys. The tile company sent out a cleaning crew to take care of the haze. We will know tomorrow how it fares. The tiles were supposed to be laid out at 1/16" grout lines. But since they weren't we were told that the grout lines will be hidden with the grout. Now I can understand that you can't hide the lines but I was expecting the lines to be flat with the surface of the tiles. My grout lines don't appear to be shallow at all. Can you comment on that by looking at the photo?

moreover the grout seems to be coming out in places . Looking forward to your advice/feedback

Those are tight grout lines for the size of tile and floor application.

The grout was washed out because they had such an issue getting the grout out of all the tile texture. In their defense not easy with these new tiles. Problem is that appears to be sanded grout also? Yes, the grout needs to be redone.

They should have advised you in the onset that these are tiles no hardwood and although they mimic tiles they need grout lines. That would also alleviate the lippage issues. The grout lines should have been larger and you can't just decide what size or to eliminate them at will. Their are guidelines and MFG recommendations. They would have to be very refined tile like marble or some porcelain to lay them that close. In other words have a straight finished edge.

They are down and I would have them re grout and be done. It looks nice. Make sure they use the entire bag of grout and some gallons of water if your tap stuff has issues to eliminate the white spots.

By the way we have real textured hardwood and the wire brush lines are just as difficult to clean. Get used to it.

I used a large format tile in my bathroom with small grout lines. My installer is excellent and it looks great.