Industry giant <strong>Royal Caribbean</strong> says the economic turmoil of recent weeks is spooking customers and causing a major slowdown in bookings. <em>&quot;While the company's order book remains solid, there has been a significant deterioration recently in new bookings due to economic and financial turmoil,&quot;</em> the company says today in a statement accompanying its third quarter earnings release. <br /><br />The parent company of Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Cruises reported record third quarter earnings of $411.9 million, or $1.92 per share, compared to $395.0 million, or $1.84 per share in 2007. But the heady profits are the result of bookings that came in long before financial markets began their roller coaster ride downward. <br /><br /><em>&quot;While we are pleased with our third quarter results, the operating environment has changed dramatically in recent weeks,&quot;</em> says <strong>Richard Fain</strong>, Royal Caribbean chairman and CEO, in the statement.<br /><br />The statement noted that the company's brands had begun offering more discounts to fill ships. <em>&quot;As we have seen during other challenging periods, our customers are delaying their (purchase decisions) further out,&quot; says Brian Rice, Royal Caribbean's chief financial officer. &quot;It is too early to respond to this atmosphere in a systematic way, but we have attracted short term volume in the traditionally weak fourth quarter using discounts.&quot;</em><br /><br />Royal Caribbean<strong> </strong>says it is responding to the downturn with plans to cut $125 million in costs over the next year. The company says it will target general and administrative expenses and try to avoid cuts that would impact the passenger experience.<br /><br />One bright spot for the company: Fuel costs. With oil prices plunging, Royal Caribbean expects to spend just $686 million this year on fuel -$86 million less than it was projecting just a few months ago. The company now projects it will spend $635 million in fuel for 2009- $255 million less than it was projecting in July.