It is a kind of storm before the calm. While cruiseship owners expect next year to be positive overall, they will have to make their way through a more challenging first quarter.

Both Royal Caribbean Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) point to expectations that 2015 will see improvements in yields, a key financial metric for the sector.

But New York-listed cruiseship owners face an investing audience that will weigh each quarter’s performance against the same quarter a year earlier.

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