Carnival had said in March that the sinking of its Costa Concordia cruises ship in January could wipe out profits this year as people shunned cruises.
However, on Tuesday the firm reported that profits were $1.33bn (Â£819m) in the third quarter, compared with $1.34bn in the same period last year.
Shares in the firm in New York rose more than 3%.
Thirty-two people died in the shipwreck in January, which an official report blamed the captain of the Costa Concordia for causing, as well as assigning some responsibility to Costa, which is owned by Carnival.
The Costa Concordia still lies next to the rocky outcrops off Giglio Island in Italy's Tuscan coast.
Carnival said it had managed to generate more money from its cruise passengers.
"The significant efforts of our brand management teams were successful in partially mitigating the decline in cruise ticket prices," said chairman and chief executive Micky Arison.
The company also plans to focus on emerging markets.
"For 2013, the company will capitalise on the increasing popularity of cruising in Asia with the deployment of a second Costa ship in China and the launch of a new Princess Cruises program for the Japanese market," it said.
Costa Cruises is a subsidiary of Carnival and runs some of the company's total fleet of 100 ships. Other brands include Carnival, P&O, Cunard, Holland America, Princess and Seabourn.

It's more serious and darker, a bit like Doctor Who in its last series.
Not everyone was happy with that change, but the team behind Atlantis say they are prepared for any criticism.
"The show is made to work pre-watershed," says executive producer and co-creator of Atlantis Johnny Capps.
"I think audiences now are a lot more sophisticated than they used to be.
"Children are exposed to a lot more darker and interesting material than they used to be.
"So I think you have to reflect that in the fact that your audience is more sophisticated."
He says that thanks to their later time slot of 8.30pm, they're hoping to catch adults and children.
And making the programme darker isn't necessarily a bad thing.
"I think it's a good thing because your showing the complexities of life and emotional stories," he says.
"So I think they are richer and I think a family audience will learn more about life, because the shows are darker.
"So they show the light side and the dark side. They show the consequences of emotional stories."
Jason, who is played by Jack Donnelly, says he was worried about the changes and how they would be received by the audience.
"It's nothing like series one," he tells Newsbeat.
"I was chatting with Mark (Addy) and Rob (Emms) about it the other day, and it's not even really a follow-up.
"They've pretty much rebooted the entire series.
"It's a lot darker, a lot more serious, all the episodes are serialised, one leads into the other, leads into the other. [They're] not standalone stories any more."
But are the team prepared for the backlash?
"Slightly, yes," admits Jack.
"I will be honest, Mark, Rob and myself, we were concerned in the beginning because we'd sort of built up a rhythm with each other last year.
"We knew what we were doing, and there was a humour that undercut all the serious moments.
"And we've sort of had to step away from that, under the producer saying, 'You know this is a new direction we are going in.'
"And having seen some of the episodes, just only rough cuts, I would say it might not be suitable for all the younger members of the audience [like] it was last year.
"But I do think overall, the show has improved.
"I think it is a positive thing, where they've taken it. And it just makes it more interesting.
"So for everyone we lose, I'm hoping we're going to gain someone else."
Atlantis is on BBC One on Saturdays from 20:30 GMT
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Cruise ship operator Carnival has reported profits that beat analysts' expectations, sending shares higher.
[NEXT_CONCEPT]
The new series of BBC One's drama Atlantis starts on Saturday night, but fans are being warned to gear up for a very different show.