Onboard Expense Account...Cash, Credit?

This topic was a hot one for me before I got on the boat and it seems to be a burning question on the boards also. I traveled on the Norwegian Sky 01/11 - 01/14/13 so, I have fresh updates.

When we first arrived to check-in, I verified with the staff how I would set up the account, being that I didnt want to hassle with a credit card (and any possible authorization holds, releasing of any auth holds, etc.) and I had planned to set up this account with cash. I was told by my booking representative that they required $100 per day, per person. I didnt want to give that amount b/c I would never use that much $. I know myself and I was completely comfortable with $150 in cash. When we checked in, however, the embarkation representative told us that we could secure the onboard accounts with a credit card and there would be no transactions or holds placed on the account until the end of the cruise. Immediately, I was very skeptical of this b/c who's to say that A) this card was valid and had available credit for the charges made on the ship and B) if the card was even valid, at all. We proceeded with the check-in and settled into one stateroom, using one card.

Later, I went to guest services on the ship and I posed the same question to the representative there and he gave me a more plausible scenario. He did confirm that we could use ONE card for the two people in one stateroom and he indicated that on the first night, a $150 authorization would be requested on the card, to secure the onboard account.

At the end of the cruise, he indicated that we had the ability to pay in cash or allow the transaction to go through on the card. Unfortunately, I failed to ask about the cash situation and if in fact I was able to do less than $100/day if I had chosen to go that route. Other posts I've read indicated just that, however. Hope this helps everyone.