I did consider option 1 but it makes it less of a gift, in my mind. “Here‘s my credit card. Buy a gift from me.” I know she won’t see it like that but I will.
Option 2 I am very reluctant to do after an incident with NCL (I know…different companies, different rules…) where my mother and stepfather were visiting us for an extended stay and decided to book a last minute cruise on NCL from Seattle while they were here. We looked online here at our home, found one, booked it, using my address and credit card, but when they got there they were told that the rate booked was for US residents only. I noticed on the Viking US website, deep in the Ts and Cs it makes reference to promotions and prices only available to Canadian and US residents.