How can I gift Palo, photo packages for Christmas?

[Susie22]

We are booked on the MR cruise Jan 23 with all my in-laws. As part of their Christmas gifts, I would like to gift them a night at Palo, a rainforest room day and a photo package. Is there any way to get a gift certificate for these things in advance so they can open it on Christmas day?

 

[HallsofVA]

I would look at the prices for the items, determine what the total cost would be, and get them a Disney Gift Card to cover the amount with specific instructions (and perhaps pictures?) as to what you intend the gift to cover. They can then apply the gift card to their onboard account once onboard. You could also try to apply additional OBC to their account in advance of their cruise, but you would need access to their reservation information (and travel agent if applicable.) That's not too hard if you're all linked together, but could be difficult if you aren't booked together. If you are linked, or if you have their reservation number and information, you should be able to contact DCL or your travel agent (if applicable) to apply money to their onboard account.

They'll want to make the Palo reservation in advance, but won't have to pay anything until they've eaten at Palo and have the cost charged to their onboard account. You can't make a reservation in advance just for your inlaws without including someone in your stateroom on the reservation and burning your chance to book the same meal type.

I don't think the rainforest room has to be booked in advance, and like Palo, you aren't charged until you're actually onboard. But I've never looked for it on the gift site either.

There are significant disadvantages to booking a photo credit package in advance versus doing it while onboard, and the cost is the same, so I'd really advise against purchasing a photo package for them as a gift via the DCL website and go the giftcard or OBC route instead.

 

[Suz D]

We are booked on the MR cruise Jan 23 with all my in-laws. As part of their Christmas gifts, I would like to gift them a night at Palo, a rainforest room day and a photo package. Is there any way to get a gift certificate for these things in advance so they can open it on Christmas day?

We're doing the same thing for my in-laws (but I hadn't thought of the rainforest room. Thanks!). I'm just making a cute certificate for them with the Palo information. We're joining them at Palo so we'll just put the whole thing on our KTTW. Regarding the Rainforest room, I bet you can just have it billed to your stateroom and make a certificate.

BUT...I'd like to know if DCL has gift certificates as well.

 

[Tink rules]

you can get some items from the gifts section of DCL including photo packages...

But I think that the gift card is a good idea.

 

[HallsofVA]

We're doing the same thing for my in-laws (but I hadn't thought of the rainforest room. Thanks!). I'm just making a cute certificate for them with the Palo information. We're joining them at Palo so we'll just put the whole thing on our KTTW. Regarding the Rainforest room, I bet you can just have it billed to your stateroom and make a certificate.

BUT...I'd like to know if DCL has gift certificates as well.

DCL has a Gift website (http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/planning-center/gifts-and-amenities/) that you can use to order gifts for yourself or for anyone who is travelling on a DCL cruise.

I just looked and you can order the Rainforest room day pass in advance, but it will cost $1 more than if you buy it on the ship. I've attached the description below. So you could order in for them in advance. But, if they're the type that would like the rainforest, and might be interested in buying a multi-day or length of cruise pass to the rainforest, then I'm not sure if they'd be able to apply what you paid for the daypass to the multi-day pass if you buy it in advance. The giftcard or OBC route mentioned earlier would give them more flexibility.

Rain Forest 1-Day Pass
Item SPA RAIN PKG, $15

Enjoy a one-day pass for the blissfully relaxing Rain Forest. Receive a gift message card in your stateroom to redeem at the Vista Spa & Salon. (A $1 service fee will be charged.)

 

[jilljill]

You can call DCL and apply shipboard credits directly to their account over the phone. You could then make up a certificate to give them at Christmas.

As previously mentioned, if you actually purchase the photo package beforehand you can only get that package and can not upgrade or downgrade it once onboard.

I'd go with a Disney gift card or a certificate saying you've applied $xxx to their shipboard account.

 

[Susie22]

Thanks so much for all the great suggestions!

 

[HallsofVA]

you can get some items from the gifts section of DCL including photo packages...

But I think that the gift card is a good idea.

Buying the photo packages from the gift website is very restrictive for 2 reasons, and while I love Shutters and always spend most of my budget on pictures, I strongly discourage advance purchase of the photo packages.

When you buy the packages in advance, you don't get the same flexibility you get when you buy them on the ship. When purchased on the ship, you can upgrade from a lower credit package to a higher credit package without penalty. They also commit to buying back unused credits (though I can never get the cost to work out in my favor to make that worth it.) So you can start off buying the smallest credit package, and then upgrade to the next level of package once you find you need that many credits.

If you buy the photo CD when onboard, then you can buy any prints or print credit packages at 50% of what they are offered to folks who don't purchase the CD. So instead of paying $199 for the 30 credit package (which is the same price as the price if purchased in advance), you'd pay $99.50 if purchased with the CD. People have reported that you can't get back the extra 50% paid for a package in advance if they end up buying the CD while on the ship.

A family travelling together on linked reservations can generally get their pictures on one CD (hint - take at least 1 embarkation photo together as a group and use that as the reference picture for the CD), and then can benefit from the 50% discount for any photo packages purchased onboard.

 

[Susie22]

So, if I understand you correctly, because all our reservations are linked, we can purchase one CD and get rights to the photos from all three families as long as we take a group embarkation photo? Thanks for all the info. This is tremendously helpful.

 

[HallsofVA]

So, if I understand you correctly, because all our reservations are linked, we can purchase one CD and get rights to the photos from all three families as long as we take a group embarkation photo? Thanks for all the info. This is tremendously helpful.

We've been able to get our family (up to 4-7 people) in multiple staterooms (2-3) on 1 CD on our last 3 cruises, but your experience could be different. On each cruise our reservations have been linked together in advance, we took at least 1 extended family embarkation photo and used it as the reference photo for the CD, and we gave them all of the stateroom numbers when buying the CD.

I don't know if it's necessarily because the staterooms are linked, and I don't actually know if they pay attention to it, but personally I think that goes a long way toward showing you're an actual family group, and not just a group of random people looking to go in together on a CD.