Carnival says bookings for 2013 cruises so far are at lower prices and still lagging last year’s levels, suggesting the industry is not recovering as quickly as previously believed.

The company, which also reported a sharply lower profit as revenue continued to be hit by last January’s deadly capsizing of one of its ships off the Italian coast, which killed 32 people, gave a full-year profit forecast below Wall Street’s projections, in part because of what it called Europe “deteriorating” economy.

Carnival forecast 2013 earnings of $2.20 to $2.40 a share, while analysts were looking for 2013 profit of $2.49 a share.

Carnival expects net revenue yields, a gauge that blends prices per cabin and how much passengers spend on board, to be down 2 to 3 per cent this quarter, excluding the effect of currency. – (Reuters)