What do you get when you book a cruise online at the last minute? Not much choice in cabins, I found out, when I decided on a recent Wednesday to sign up for one of NCL's weekend cruises leaving two days later.

Our outside cabin -- one of only a handful remaining when I booked -- was just above the waterline, and a deck beneath the purser's and check-in desks. And it was . . . fine. Especially at the bargain price of $169 per person, plus surcharges, for a total of $516.10.

Snug, sure -- but the same size as similar cabins on other decks. Clean, absolutely. Bed was a bit hard for our taste, but the pillows were soft, and all was right with the sea-going world.

That is, until the second night of our cruise, when a rhythmic clanging sound on the deck just beneath us woke us again, and again, and again. Some kind of ill-timed maintenance, we assumed in our haze.

SERVICE TEST

The real test of a hotel, tour company or cruise ship, I've learned, comes when something goes awry. And in this case, though NCL didn't rate an A+, it definitely earned an A-

Stop One was the front desk; the staffer I spoke with was much nicer than the staff I'd dealt with on a more upscale line a few months before. But hours later, after returning from a shore visit, I'd heard nothing further.

Cranky at the thought of another sleepless night, I went back to the desk. A manager took me into her office, explained they'd tried to reach me (though I hadn't received a message). The problem wasn't maintenance but a loose something-or-other that couldn't be fixed until they reached Miami. She offered to move me . . . and came up with a $100 credit, which seemed appropriate given what we'd paid. (If I'd been in a hotel, I would have expected a credit for the sleepless night.) We even got a certificate for a $20 bottle of wine.

And so the weekend ended with a rosy affection for NCL -- which is pretty much what you hope for when you plop down your money for a weekend getaway.

STRONG VALUE

I'm a long-time Miamian, so the itinerary wasn't the draw. Like other three-night sailings from South Florida, NCL's leaves on Friday, spends Saturday in Nassau and Sunday on its private island beach in the Bahamas before returning to Miami at the crack of dawn on Monday. Nassau is nearly neighborhood, a place so familiar no map is required, and the private beach with snorkeling didn't hold the same appeal as when I lived in New York.

Still, I'd longed to try out NCL's Freestyle Cruising, which promises meals when and where you want them and a laissez-faire attitude. My sister cruised with NCL in Hawaii when the ''freestyle'' approach was first taking shape and had given it a thumbs down; too much confusion with dining. But NCL has promised many improvements since then, including video screens around the ship with updated info on restaurant availability and a restaurant reservations desk.

Other weekend cruisers said they were drawn mostly by the low cost. When NCL brought its Norwegian Sky from Hawaii to Miami for three- and four- day sailings in July, they offered favorable introductory prices starting at $199 per person and free cruising for children with their parents through late September (which accounted for the multitude of families on our sailing). If we'd waited until now to sail, we'd have paid even less; through Dec. 12, NCL is offering Florida residents a rate of $99 per person, double, for an inside cabin and $119 for an outside cabin, for a total of $379 inside, $379 outside.

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