On Wednesday, Citigroup analyst James Hardiman upgraded the entire cruise sector, while raising the firm's price targets on all three names. The analyst raised the price target on Carnival from $25 to $28, Royal Caribbean from $204 to $253, and Norwegian from $20 to $30.

Citi analysts upgraded shares of the Norwegian Cruise Line to Buy from Neutral and raised their price targets on both.

Major U.S. indexes were higher at midday Wednesday ahead of the release of the minutes from the last Federal Reserve meeting, when policymakers slashed interest rates.

The Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) stock price is firing on all cylinders and outperforming its closest rivals like Carnival and Norwegian. It has risen in the last three consecutive months, and is sitting at a record high of $193.

Miami-based Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL) operates as a global cruise vacation company. With a market cap of $46.3 billion, the company operates cruise brands like Royal Caribbean International,