Carnival Cruise Vacationers Spend More Onboard, Profit Tops Estimates

Carnival Corp.'s fourth quarter earnings topped expectations but its sales missed estimates. Its quarterly report card shows profit came in at 27 cents a share. Total sales came in at only $3.7 billion. While ticket prices and onboard spending rose, a heavy fuel derivative charge wiped out those gains. But, a bit of a brighter outlook is that the company provided full-year 2015 guidance that is in-line with expectations. Advanced bookings for 2015 are also off to a good start -- the cruise ship operator said Friday bookings for the first three quarters are ahead of last year even with tickets getting a bit more expensive.