It was a phone call that sent Orphans Aid International representative Hilary Campbell into a whirlwind of activity.
The call came from Tapley Swift shipping agent David McLean.
The Diamond Princess cruise ship was berthing in Port Chalmers on Christmas Day, and the crew wanted to know if children from a local orphanage would like to come aboard for Christmas dinner.
‘‘I explained to them that ... we don't have orphanages anymore [in New Zealand],'' Mrs Campbell, who manages the Orphans Aid op shop in Dunedin, said.
But she did know foster and adoptive families who would appreciate the gesture.
‘‘They gave me about 24 hours to have some documents back to them for security - there's a lot of high security around visitors coming on a cruise ship.''
And a couple of days later, on Christmas morning, 36 adoptees, foster children and their parents boarded Diamond Princess.
‘‘It's been absolutely amazing,'' Ruth Kelsall said.
She was aboard with her children, Emily (12) and Alice (8), whom she and her husband adopted from Jiangxi province in China when the girls were each 1 year old.
Anita Gibbs and her husband were there with their sons Dima (11) and Ruslan (12), whom they adopted from St Petersburg, almost nine years ago.
They too were excited to be there. ‘‘I was the first aboard,'' Dima said.
The families had a tour of the ship and an audience with Santa. Mrs Campbell was presented with a $2000 cheque from the ship's crew fund - ‘‘they could've had a party [with that money]!''
Just before sitting down to a Christmas lunch - ham, fish or a filo pastry - the crew serenaded the families with a song.
‘‘The cruise ship has been truly amazing from the moment we stepped on board, being so welcoming,'' she said.
‘‘We've been treated like royalty.''
