Carnival partners with Uplift to offer cruisers an instalment-plan alternative

Carnival Cruise Line said it will offer instalment financing of its cruise vacations through Uplift, a relatively new third-party finance company.

Uplift will offer Carnival customers an alternative to its in-house incremental payment program, EasyPay.

Uplift Pay Monthly offers to finance of up to 24 months with no downpayment.

In an example, Uplift said consumers booking a cruise priced at $2,000 on a 24-month plan would make 24 payments of $96.97, yielding a finance charge on the purchase of 15% APR, or $327.28 above the price of the cruise.

The minimum ticket price to receive Uplift financing is $605. There are no prepayment penalties.

EasyPay splits the ticket price into monthly payments but does not levy a finance charge. Customers must put down a deposit, and billing is through a credit card. If the customer pays the balance on the credit card each month there is no extra charge.

EasyPay must be picked as the payment plan 120 to 150 days from sailing, depending on the itinerary. Monthly payments begin 30 days after the initial deposit.

Ken Tate, the chief commercial officer for Carnival Cruise Line, said Carnival agreed to partner with Uplift because of its unique zero down payment, 24-month format and because it is focused only on the travel sector.

Uplift said Uplift Pay Monthly can be offered by travel advisors, and that its systems will seamlessly integrate with Carnival's existing booking and payment processes.

Norwegian Cruise Line also offers an Uplift option.