MIAMI (Bloomberg) — Carnival Corp., the biggest cruise- line operator, rose the most in three months after raising its full-year earnings forecast because of better-than-expected ticket bookings during the summer.

Carnival rose $2.20, or 6.8 percent, to $34.20 at 11.56 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, after gaining as much 8.4 percent, the biggest intraday advance since June 19. The shares were up 32 percent this year before yesterday.

Earnings for 2009 will be $2.16 to $2.20 a share, the Miami-based company said yesterday in a statement. That's more than the $2 to $2.10 projected in June.

Analysts had predicted $2.06, the average of 24 estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Bookings through the first half of 2010 are 19 percent ahead of a year earlier, the company said.

"Throughout the summer, booking volumes have continued to be quite strong which has enabled us to achieve higher last- minute prices," chief operating officer Howard Frank said yesterday on a conference call.

Third-quarter net income dropped to $1.07 billion, or $1.33 a share, from $1.33 billion, or $1.65, a year earlier, the company said. Analysts had expected profit of $1.18 a share excluding some items, the average of 17 estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Sales fell 14 percent to $4.14 billion in the quarter ended August 31. Analysts projected $4.1 billion on average. The owner of the Seabourn, Princess and Cunard lines has cut prices to fill its ships, eroding the benefits of cost-cutting and lower fuel prices.

Daily cruise costs fell 15 percent from a year earlier, helped by lower fuel expenses, currency changes and other reductions, Carnival said.

Fuel prices dropped to an average of $405 a metric ton from $666 last year. The company expects to pay an average of $365 per metric ton this year, compared with the $353 it had forecast earlier.

Net revenue yields, a measure of ticket prices, dropped 16.5 percent, including currency fluctuations, and 12.3 percent excluding them, Carnival said.

Excluding shifts in currency values, yields will fall ten percent this year, an improvement from earlier forecasts.

The decline may be 14 percent when currencies are factored in, the company said, better than the 16 percent projected in June.

Carnival sails 92 ships under its namesake cruise line, as well as P&O, Aida, Costa Cruises, Ibero and Ocean Village. It has 13 new vessels scheduled for delivery through 2012.

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