MIAMI — Thanks to strong booking volumes, Carnival Corp. says that even with higher capacity it has less inventory remaining for sale in 2019 than it did at the same time last year.

The cruise company released its Q1 2019 results yesterday. Forward bookings for the remainder of 2019 are ahead year over year. Pricing on bookings taken since January have been running in line on a comparable basis to the prior year while booking volumes are ahead.

Carnival Corporation & plc President and CEO Arnold Donald says booking trends achieved during Wave Season “rivalled last year’s historical highs” and were consistent with the demand trends the company saw going into the year.

“For our North America and Australia brands, our booked position is ahead of the prior year at higher prices while our Europe and Asia brands are well ahead of the prior year at lower prices. Our brands are strong and growing, including Continental Europe, where we continue to expect revenue growth driven by double-digit capacity increases.”

Carnival Corporation & plc’s gross cruise revenues topped US$4.6 billion for the first quarter of 2019, up year over year from $4.2 billion.

Net cruise revenues for Q1 were $3.6 billion compared to $3.4 billion, an increase of 4.7%.

Gross revenue yields were up too, by 5.8%. Net revenue yields increased 0.5%. Gross cruise costs including fuel increased 8.6%.

Meanwhile the cruise company is reporting Q1 net income of $336 million, compared to $391 million for Q1 2018.

First quarter 2019 adjusted net income was $338 million, compared to $375 million for Q1 2018.

Donald said the Q1 earnings included revenue growth from higher capacity and improved onboard spending, but were offset by the timing of cost increases and a drag from fuel price and currency compared to the prior year.

Highlights from the first quarter included the expansion of Princess Cruises’ MedallionClass experience onboard Regal Princess, with three additional ships to follow in 2019.