Docked and arriving cruise ships in Cozumel, Mexico.

Jeff Greenberg | Universal Images Group | Getty Images

Carnival , Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings posted strong earnings for their most recent quarters despite rising fuel prices. How the leading cruise companies navigate fuel costs boils down to starkly different strategies.

Oil prices have skyrocketed since the U.S.-Israel war with Iran began on Feb. 28. Brent crude oil reached a six-month high on Friday, settling at $116.72 per barrel. With no clear end in sight for the conflict in the Middle East, the pressure affecting cruise ships' lifeblood seems poised to last into the holiday travel season and beyond.

Both Royal Caribbean and Norwegian practice "hedging," or a strategy of using derivatives to reduce exposure to swings in the price of fuel, to account for sharp increases.

Carnival CEO Josh Weinstein, on the other hand, told CNBC in an interview last month that cutting fuel consumption is the best way to avert the effects of…