Norwegian Cruise Line, in the latest sign that its new financial course is working, posted a first-quarter profit of $5.2 million, compared with a year-earlier loss of $145 million.

The Miami-based cruise line, which is jointly owned by Apollo Management and Star Cruises, reported revenue fell 15.5 percent to $424.5 million from $511.6 million a year earlier. That reflected lower cruise prices aimed at luring consumers to cruise amid the steep recession and the retirement of two ships that cut capacity as the company modernizes its fleet.

The results suggest the strategy implemented since Apollo Management, the New York private equity giant, acquired a 50-percent stake and control of the board in January 2008 is beginning to pay off. ''This is the fifth quarter we've seen improvement,'' said Kevin Sheehan, who became chief executive in November 2008.

After extensive losses on its Hawaiian operations, which used U.S.-flagged ships and U.S. crews, NCL redeployed two of the three ships from the islands last year, sending one to Europe and the other to the Caribbean. As part of its fleet modernization, it also retired the Marco Polo and Norwegian Dream from its fleet in 2008.

For the latest quarter, Norwegian said its net yield, a key measure of how much revenue it generates per available bed per day, fell 7.9 percent as it slashed cruise prices.

The strategy succeeded in keeping its ships sailing full. Occupancy was 106.9 percent in the first quarter compared to 106.4 percent for the year-ago quarter.

Cruise lines consider a ship full when its two lower berths are occupied, so adding additional passengers, such as children, to cabins can boost occupancy levels above 100 percent.

Once passengers arrived onboard, they spent more than last year, helping make up for the lower cruise prices, the cruise line said.

And NCL helped compensate for the weak revenue by keeping a tight rein on costs.

''Although we continue to be disappointed with the current pricing environment, we are optimistic that we are introducing new people to our brand and bringing in new cruisers to the market,'' said Sheehan, a former consultant to Apollo who joined NCL as chief financial officer in November 2007.

A key challenge for NCL and the cruise industry overall has been adapting to consumers' recent habit of booking cruises closer to departure dates than they used to.

The cruise lines use sophisticated revenue management systems to fill cabins at the highest possible price based on computerized modeling, but the closer-in booking trend has thrown the industry a curve, making it hard to know when to cut prices and when to sit tight.

''The customer is holding out until a lot later,'' Sheehan said. 'That weakens our ability to manage our revenue and forces everyone to say, `Oh my goodness, we've got to fill our ships.' ''

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