The cruise sector has been on a roll, and Wall Street thinks it has more room to run. However, the rising tide hasn't lifted all stocks equally, as differences in fundamentals, fuel hedging, and valuation have led to varying performance across companies.
Over the last few years, the overall industry has benefited from a combination of strong demand, solid pricing, and healthy onboard spending. Even with the recent spike in oil prices, three of the major cruise operators, Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL), Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE: RCL), and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NYSE: NCLH), have still managed to post strong stock gains over the last 12 months.
