Steiner's Love Boat

Cruising along is just what one would expect Steiner Leisure (Nasdaq: STNR  ) to do. The provider of spa services on 114 different cruise ships as well as dozens of resort spas reported healthy third-quarter results that -- in a word -- could be described as exfoliating. The company saw revenues climb by 20% to hit $90.1 million. Earnings provided an even deeper massage, rising by 27% for a $0.52-a-share showing.

Keep in mind that Steiner produced these gains even as Florida-hugging hurricanes forced the cruise industry into cancellations and port reshufflings. And, yes, Steiner's presence is significant out of the Florida ports since it operates the floating spas for most of the Carnival (NYSE: CCL  ) , Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL  ) , NCL, and Disney (NYSE: DIS  ) fleets.

It's not as though we should have expected a rough storm for Steiner. Last month Carnival estimated that the Sunshine State storms would rough up its quarterly results by no more than $0.06 a share, and this was the company that had to deal with the refunds and credits. If anything, one could argue that cruises forced into storm-evasive moves like switching to less attractive ports-of-call or additional days at sea probably played right into Steiner's well-trained hands.

The seaworthy travel sector has had a good year. The fact that the demographics continue to skew toward a younger crowd that would favor Shiatsu over shuffleboard or body wraps over bingo bodes even better for Steiner.

The company has now earned $1.88 a share over the last four quarters. Priced at less than 13 times trailing earnings, the company is as cheap as its treatments may seem pricey. This is the 10th straight quarter that the company has exceeded Wall Street's expectations; as long as analysts keep underestimating the potential of pampering, that trend is bound to continue.

Smooth seas. Smooth skin. What a wicked combination.

Pilates of the Caribbean? What do you think of cruising spa services? Which boats are worth sailing on? Have any cruising horror stories to share? All this and more -- in the Favorite Travel Spots/Tips discussion board. Only on Fool.com.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz has taken advantage of his Miami home to cruise cheaply on just about all of the major lines -- and has taken up Steiner's cruise offerings a couple of times on the Disney Wonder. He owns shares in Disney.