Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., the world’s second-largest cruise operator, forecast a loss for this quarter as it discounted more tickets than expected in a seasonally slow period.

Royal Caribbean expects a loss of 5 cents a share in the fourth quarter and projects full-year earnings of 70 cents a share, the low end of the 70 cents to 80 cents forecast in July.

“The traditionally weaker fourth quarter will be worse than we had previously thought,” Chief Financial Officer Brian Rice said today on a conference call.

The Miami-based company has reduced ticket prices this year as consumers shopped for bargains and made vacation decisions later than usual. Analysts had forecast a break-even fourth quarter on revenue of $1.46 billion, unchanged from a year ago. Royal Caribbean is adding Oasis of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship, during the period.

Royal Caribbean fell 92 cents, or 4.5 percent, to $19.75 at 4:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have gained 44 percent this year.

Bookings for Oasis of the Seas are “strong” and the ship is commanding premium pricing, Chief Executive Officer Richard Fain said on the call. The ship is en route to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from a Finland shipyard and is scheduled to start sailing in December.

Third-quarter net income dropped to $230.4 million, or $1.07 a share, from $411.9 million, or $1.92, a year earlier, the company said today in a statement. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had projected profit, excluding some items, of $1.01, the average of 20 estimates.

‘Dramatic Discounting’

Sales fell 15 percent to $1.76 billion from $2.06 billion, missing the $1.79 billion average estimate. Cruise booking have increased 40 percent since mid-September compared with the same period last year, the company said.

Revenue after operating costs per available passenger cruise days, a measure known as net yield, fell 17 percent. The company reiterated its projection for net yields to decline about 14 percent this year, and to rise next year as pricing improves.

“Even if the economy doesn’t change dramatically we will see yield improvements in 2010,” Fain said today in a phone interview. “The first quarter will be better and the full year will be better.”

Net cruise costs, which exclude commissions and some other expenses, fell 10 percent.

The company has five ships under construction in addition to Oasis of the Seas. Royal Caribbean operates Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity, Pullmantur, Azamara and CDF Croisieres de France. Carnival Corp., also based in Miami, is the biggest cruise line operator.

To contact the reporter on this story: Beth Jinks in New York at bjinks1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 3, 2009 17:10 EST