Uplift Financing with Carnival

[cruisinagain1960]

I did use Uplift with RCCL for our last cruise - it worked well for me.

 

That being said, I think the only time I would use Uplift again would be on a last-minute deal that I just can't pass up.  Something that needs to be paid in full at the time of booking.

 

But, as others have said, no one is forcing anyone to use the option.  Some people will find value in it, some will not.  Those that don't find the value, simply don't use it : ))

[Don Kehote]

3 hours ago, aknguyen said:

You don't have to use this service. This is an additional service and all others are still there to use.

Look at my knee, how I jerked the hell out of it!  

 

I was totally sleep-deprived when thinking about this - I was under the impression that it was *the* choice for future bookings.  Now, after reflection (and being corrected by Mrs. Kehote), I can see some possible scenarios to use it.  It's still not for me, but knowing that it's not a mandated thing makes me much happier.

[airlink diva]

On 11/7/2019 at 7:22 PM, sanger727 said:

The only benefit I can see is either 1. not making a standard down payment or 2. if you pay after final payment and want to break it up into two-three payments, but that's really all you could do with that amount of time. Can't see either of those being worth the crazy APR they are charging. Can't you just book during a reduced deposit sail and pay it down slowly on your own? Maybe this is meant for people that don't have the financial discipline to do that and need the "bill" to keep them paying it down. Don't know.

This is what I do on my most recent cruises.  If I book and have a balance of $800 and my cruise final payment is 10 months later.  Each payday I would pay x amount towards my cruise on the Carnival website.  

[bptex]

I paid my next one off with paypal credit, 6 months with zero interest. I'm guessing Uplift is like Affirm, they are very friendly with their approval rates and the vendor pays them some kind of spiff when you take out the loan. 

[sprint180]

On 11/8/2019 at 7:20 AM, HillBilly Bob said:

I am well aware that my response will not be well received....so FLAME away!   

 

If you NEED to cruise on credit with a loan....maybe you can't afford to go on vacation.  

Not flaming.  I totally agree.  If you want to cruise and can't pay for it then maybe start putting some away in savings and put off the cruise until you can.  

[Joe817]

17 minutes ago, sprint180 said:

Not flaming.  I totally agree.  If you want to cruise and can't pay for it then maybe start putting some away in savings and put off the cruise until you can.  

Yup. I agree as well. It only took one look at the interest rate to scare me off for using it. And that's what we do...start saving until we have enough to pay it in full, then book it, pay it, and have an enormous peace of mind. 

[LadyMac72]

I used it to purchase a trip.  I had most of the money set aside to pay for a cruise but then an escrow debacle with my mortgage company necessitated that I wait (just in case I needed to have those funds available - I didn't but I needed to be sure)... I wasn't going to book the cruise but the deal I got was too good to pass up.  Cost me a little extra but I got a great deal at a good price.  

[Doggielover68]

On 11/8/2019 at 8:20 AM, HillBilly Bob said:

I am well aware that my response will not be well received....so FLAME away!   

 

If you NEED to cruise on credit with a loan....maybe you can't afford to go on vacation.  

Agree 100% 

 

Vacation is a privilege, not a necessity. God forbid you need to take out a loan for an emergency but can't because you're in debt to a cruiseline. Ridiculous. 

 

Smart move for Carnival though, and a lot of dummies will surely take advantage. 

[coevan]

9 hours ago, Joe817 said:

It only took one look at the interest rate to scare me off

 

 

it actually says 7-34%, I would never take out a loan for a vacation, but 7% is not a huge rate if you did have great credit.

[cdm289]

On 11/8/2019 at 9:02 AM, kdr69 said:

I have used the Carnival Easy Pay for my next three cruises works great for me.

Is Carnival Easy Pay still available?  I did a mock booking and the options were the regular deposit or Uplift.  It used to give the Easy Pay option.  

 

It is too bad if it is gone as I thought it was a good idea.  Never used it myself as I put chunks down as I get the savings so I do my own "easy pay".  

[kdr69]

Hi cdm289, just did a mock booking two minutes ago and still shows easypay option on my screen.

[sanger727]

On 11/22/2019 at 7:41 PM, coevan said:

 

 

it actually says 7-34%, I would never take out a loan for a vacation, but 7% is not a huge rate if you did have great credit.

 

If you had great credit you could easily get a credit card with a 0% intro rate. I doubt many of their customers qualify for their best rates.

[coevan]

probably right, we are all about the mileage, we charge the whole cruise on Capital One and pay the balance, usually get about 5,000 miles

[James4me]

We got the Carnival credit card to specifically pay off our cruise. We have I believe 0 interest fees for first 6 months, this, we will use the card for final payment and pay it off in the 6 month period after final payment.

[ray98]

A good percentage of the population make horrible financial decisions and spend money they don't have everyday which includes putting entire vacations on credit cards.  Carnival is just trying to get a piece of that pie.

[jimbo5544]

2 hours ago, ray98 said:

A good percentage of the population make horrible financial decisions and spend money they don't have everyday which includes putting entire vacations on credit cards.  Carnival is just trying to get a piece of that pie.

I questioned why they made this move when it was announced.  I have to say, I have no idea on peoples decisions (nor my business) on booking or paying for cruises.  I think I would phrase my comments around Carnival is trying to give people as many options to book a Carnival cruise.  THere have been enough comments here that it does work for them, it is not for us....

[James4me]

9 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

I questioned why they made this move when it was announced.  I have to say, I have no idea on peoples decisions (nor my business) on booking or paying for cruises.  I think I would phrase my comments around Carnival is trying to give people as many options to book a Carnival cruise.  THere have been enough comments here that it does work for them, it is not for us....

Our credit card has 0% interest for 6 months.  This will be paid off ahead of the 6 month cut off.  

[xDisconnections]

17 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

I questioned why they made this move when it was announced.  I have to say, I have no idea on peoples decisions (nor my business) on booking or paying for cruises.  I think I would phrase my comments around Carnival is trying to give people as many options to book a Carnival cruise.  THere have been enough comments here that it does work for them, it is not for us....

I’m still not sure why this is even a necessary option. If someone needs to consider financing for a cruise, maybe it isn’t the right time to reserve this type of vacation. Seems to be the next step from the reduced deposits...

[ray98]

4 hours ago, xDisconnections said:

I’m still not sure why this is even a necessary option. If someone needs to consider financing for a cruise, maybe it isn’t the right time to reserve this type of vacation. Seems to be the next step from the reduced deposits...

 

 

Well....because a good portion of the population has no qualms about running up tens of thousands in credit card debt.  They will get a new car because they 'deserve it' even though they are still upside down on the one they own.  They buy a much bigger home than they can afford. 

 

There are plenty of people who will see that program and say 'we deserve a nice vacation' even if they can't afford it.  Carnival wants a piece of the pie from those who live beyond their means.

Edited November 30, 2019 by ray98

[jimbo5544]

10 minutes ago, ray98 said:

 

 

Well....because a good portion of the population has no qualms about running up tens of thousands in credit card debt.  They will get a new car because they 'deserve it' even though they are still upside down on the one they own.  They buy a much bigger home than they can afford. 

 

There are plenty of people who will see that program and say 'we deserve a nice vacation' even if they can't afford it.  Carnival wants a piece of the pie from those who live beyond their means.

Which is probably a fairly large percentage of potential cruisers

[sanger727]

On 11/30/2019 at 2:36 AM, xDisconnections said:

I’m still not sure why this is even a necessary option. If someone needs to consider financing for a cruise, maybe it isn’t the right time to reserve this type of vacation. Seems to be the next step from the reduced deposits...

there can be reasons to finance a large purchase that you could afford when the financing terms are right. I’ve financed cars and large household purchases when the financing was available in the 0-2% range; because that allows me to leave money in investments which are earning 8%+.
 

However I don’t like uplift for a number of reasons. First the interest rates are too high. Second. This financing is also available on NCL and people on that board have mentioned that you pay 100% of the interest you will accrue when you take out the loan. Then you make monthly payments on the principle. So there can be no savings from early pre-payment. I still think that for someone who has a valid reason for wanting to wait to pay off a cruise (as opposed to just living beyond their means), they are much better off getting a credit card with a introduction 0% interest rate.

[coevan]

4 hours ago, sanger727 said:

there can be reasons to finance a large purchase that you could afford when the financing terms are right. I’ve financed cars

 

 

A car is a necessity, not a vacation, bad comparison. Who has that much cash hanging around? I financed my new Honda for .9%. I would never charge a vacation. I also financed my home.

[sanger727]

22 hours ago, coevan said:

 

 

A car is a necessity, not a vacation, bad comparison. Who has that much cash hanging around? I financed my new Honda for .9%. I would never charge a vacation. I also financed my home.

 

A car that you don't have enough savings to pay for is not a necessity. Yes, I have enough cash (not hanging around but working for me in investments) to purchase a car. But there are certainly times when it's better for a multitude of reasons to finance. 

 

I recently financed a hot tub. A completely discretionary expense. We had the cash for it. But they offered 2 years at 0%. May as well leave my cash in savings and freed up for an emergency.

Edited December 2, 2019 by sanger727

[Mira28]

 I don’t understand why this is of such interest and a subject for criticism. It’s a financing program. Sensible? Maybe not, but no one is forced to become involved in it. 
  Offering information based on one’s experience is one thing, making baseless judgments is another. We have no way of knowing the financial status of anyone (other than ourselves) who takes cruises. Seems best to focus on our own business and leave others to theirs. 

 

[coevan]

2 hours ago, sanger727 said:

A car that you don't have enough savings to pay for is not a necessity.

 

 

How can you say this? Who has 20+K sitting around and who pays cash for cars? I would say having a job 20 miles away a car is a necessity.