(Reuters) — Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings forecast a first-quarter profit on Tuesday, betting on higher ticket prices and regular demand throughout the U.S. for cruises to the Caribbean and Europe.

The company’s shares rose 6.3% in premarket trading.

Cruise operators are experiencing record levels of bookings in 2024 as travelers look to spend on novel experiences and are choosing cruises over land-based alternatives just like hotels or theme parks.

This has given corporations including Carnival Corp and Royal Caribbean more room to hike prices on their itineraries and offset still-high labor and fuel costs.

“We’re determined to capitalize on our recent achievements and reap the advantages of the positive momentum and powerful demand for cruise which resulted in turning the 12 months at all-time highs in each our booked position and pricing,” Norwegian Cruise CEO Harry Sommer said.

The company’s advance ticket sales ended 2023 at a year-end record of $3.2 billion, about 56% higher compared with the highest of 2019.

Norwegian Cruise forecast an adjusted profit of 12 cents per share for the first quarter, compared with analysts’ estimates of a scarcity of 20 cents per share, in response to LSEG data.

The company’s fourth-quarter revenue rose to $1.99 billion from $1.52 billion a 12 months earlier. Analysts had expected $1.97 billion.

Norwegian, which owns the Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands, said it returned to full-year profitability for the first time since 2019.

(Reporting by Granth Vanaik and Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru and Doyinsola Oladipo in Latest York; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)