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<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.25em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; font-size: 1em; display: block; text-align: justify; padding: 0px;">Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. reports its first-quarter results before the stock market opens Wednesday.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.25em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; font-size: 1em; display: block; text-align: justify; padding: 0px;">WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Cruise lines slashed their prices in a desperate pitch for passengers during the height of the recession. Now, though, more passengers are booking cruises, and prices are going back up, which increases revenue.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.25em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; font-size: 1em; display: block; text-align: justify; padding: 0px;">Last month, Royal Caribbean's much larger competitor, Carnival Corp., said more travelers are booking cruise vacations and paying higher prices for their getaways.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.25em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; font-size: 1em; display: block; text-align: justify; padding: 0px;">Analysts expected Royal Caribbean to report even bigger increases in booking volume and ticket prices.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.25em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; font-size: 1em; display: block; text-align: justify; padding: 0px;">William Blair &amp; Co. analyst Sharon Zackfia told investors in a research note that she expects Royal Caribbean to report that prices have climbed since February -- in some cases substantially.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.25em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; font-size: 1em; display: block; text-align: justify; padding: 0px;">"The most notable rebound is for Alaskan itineraries, where our surveys suggest average price improvements of more than 40 percent versus last year's summer sailings," she wrote this week.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.25em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; font-size: 1em; display: block; text-align: justify; padding: 0px;">WHY IT MATTERS: Put simply, cruises are luxuries. If travelers are showing a notable willingness to plunk down cash for getaways on the high seas -- particularly at the higher prices many itineraries now command -- it will be yet another sign that consumers are feeling better about their finances and the nation's economy.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.25em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; font-size: 1em; display: block; text-align: justify; padding: 0px;">WHAT'S EXPECTED: Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect Royal Caribbean to lose 5 cents per share on revenue of $1.48 billion. That estimate typically excludes one-time charges and gains.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.25em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; font-size: 1em; display: block; text-align: justify; padding: 0px;">LAST YEAR'S QUARTER: Royal Caribbean lost $36.2 million, or 17 cents per share on revenue of $1.33 billion.</p>
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