The cruise industry has run into some choppy waters lately, but the payouts have never been better. Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL), for one, boosted its dividend rate on Friday. The quarterly distributions will now be $0.78 a share, up from $0.70, pushing the stock's yield to a respectable 2.9%.
Industry bellwether Carnival (NYSE: CCL) (NYSE: CUK) is weighing in with an even beefier 4.4% yield, but with its own set of challenges driving the stock to four-year lows this summer, it's probably not the way shareholders wanted to achieve a chunkier distribution rate. Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE: NCLH) has never paid a dividend since going public at $19 in 2013, but since its fortunes tend to coast alongside its two larger peers, it's fair to say rising yields are the water that lifts all figurative and literal ships.
Image source: Royal Caribbean.