ON JUNE 28 my sister ROSEMARY and i went on ALASKA cruise from vancouver on the HOLLAND AMERICA ship VOLENDAM for a week. we left canada place at 3.45pm bound for JUNEAU and when we left i got to see english bay from a ship view and howe sound too . this cruise was to celebrate HOLLAND AMERICA 150 years in business . wile we were heading north i could see the SAPPHIRE PRINCEES right behind us i saw her behind us all the way until we got to DISCOVERY PASSAGE and it started to get very dark and showery a bit wile we were in DISCOVERY PASSAGE i got to see CAMPBELL RIVER and CAPE MUGE LIGHTHOUSE on QUADRA ISLAND . in DISCOVERY PASSAGE we passed the cruise ships SILVER MUSE and the VIKING ORION on there way to VANCOUVER after that i went to bed . the next morning i see we were in HECATE STRAIT and to me that was very open water and times it got bit rough but the VOLENDAM handel it very well i could see HADIA GWAII in the distance and the inside passage to in the distance inculding going by GOSSE ISLAND . this was my first time going through HECATE STRAIT north bound the last time was wth my dad going from PRINCE RUPERT to SIKAGATE on the QUEEN OF PRINCE RUPERT in july 1996 . in HECATE STRAIT there were lot of humpback whales around and i saw one least 50 yards from us lot of my fellow passangers love seeing the whales it like a emergency when there you got to move fast to see them because they move fast too . wile in HECATE STRAIT we passed few cruise ships heading south for VANCOUVER or SEATTLE wich were long way off from us . on the ship i used the pool wich was good and had all of of our meals were in a cafe stile cafeteria system wich i realy like and lot of the passengers went to this cafe wich was called the LIDO MARKET and i found the food very good. on june 30 we came into ALASKA and made a stop at TRACY ARM wich is inlet and cruise ship go to but we were not going there we made a short stop to drof off passengers onto a tour boat and they wil take the up TRACY ARM and onto JUNEAU but they were on differnt cruise with us this dit not inculed our cruise and we did not book for that tour so that was sperate from the cruise we were on but we got to see tracy arm from the entrance and worth seeing . after that we keep going on to JUNEAU and JUNEAU was not very far from TRACY ARM and i could see JUNEAU in the distance it was very rainng there but it always rains in alaska. when we got to JUNEAU we were booked for tour to MENDENHALL GLACIER wich we went on to a tour bus and i have been to JUNEAU and MENDENHALL GLACIER before but this time the glacier is shirking and not much to see from that but on this trip we went to the falls next to the glacier wich was named NUGGET FALLS wich i never been to before wich got very close to the falls and was intresting to see. when the bus arived to pick us up from MENDENHALL GLACIER the tour person toook us to onther part of JUNEAU named DOUGLAS wich is just on the onther side of town like suburb of JUNEAU there not much to see there so we just made short stop there and back to downtown JUNEAU . wile were in downtown JUNEAU we went to the shops and looked around and our dinner in town before we went back to our ship . we left JUNEAU at 10pm and heaed for SKAGWAY . the next morning july 1 we arived in SKAGWAY and we were booked onto the WHITE PASS train wich to us the the summit of WHITE PASS but before that we walked all over skgaway main street were lot of the stores are and from what could see this town has not changed a lot to but the train wich was was here last time i was here in june 1999 and has not changed much either . so after we walked around town we boared our train to the white pass summit and i have been on this train twice before so i know what is like and stil amazing to see it was trip that took only less then three hours wich was great and got to see a view of SKAGWAY from the top of the white pass. when we got back to skagway from the white pass summit we went back to our ship and called it a day . on july 2 we wet to GLACIER BAY wich i have never been to before and it worth seening we got up very close to the glacier and was great to see GLACIER BAY is a US NATIONAL PARK and had a park expert on board telling us about glacier bay and its history from the top of GLACER BAY we went to see onther glacier in the lower part of the bay named john hopkins glacier but we were not as close to this one has the one at the top of glacier bay but overal i realy like seening GLACIER BAY and it worth seening and kept in great shape and very well protected . then from there we heaed south for KETCHIKAN wich we arived the next morning on july 3 wile on our way into KETCHIKAN wich passed lighthouse on GUARD ISLAND and saw some ALASKA STATE ferries in the ship yard wich i knew two of them wich were the KENNICOT and MATANUSKA wich i have been on both of them on my travles in ALASKA in 1998 and 1999 . wile we were in KETCHIKAN we walked to creek street wich is a creek going by some old buildings and is very historic part of KETCHIKAN so every time i go to KETCHIKAN i like to go to creek street wich we did and after that we kept going all over KETCHIKAN wich was sunny wile we were there wich was great to see after we went to lot of the shops in town we went back to our ship we left KETCHIKAN at 6pm and heaed for vancouver . the next day july 4 we got to PINE ISLAND and had coast pilot boared us for the return home to vancouver i was happy to see pine island and the lighthouse wich was hit by a big wave in feb 1969 but stil in operation today after we went by PINE ISLAND we got to JOHNSTONE STRAIT and was great to see and on to SEYMOUR NARROWS wich i have been through there before but not cruise ship wich was great got too se lot of SEYMOUR NARROWS and a great view of CAMPBELL RIVER wich was between 7.30-8pm and was stil sunny at that time then after seening all that i went to bed . the next morning we arived in VANCOUVER at 6.30am and got up had our breakfast on the ship then afterwards got our things together and got off the VOLENDAM cleared customs and went home overal i like my time on the VOLENDAM and this was my first cruise to ALASKA and my first cruise on HOLLAND AMERICA wich i realy liked and onboard this ship had lot of history of this ship and the history of THE NETHERLANDS wich this ship and company is from wich they like to show proudly so we had great time on the VOLENDAM and meet lot people from the USA and the UK and some from CANADA wich was great to see it was worth doing this cruise since it was HOLLAND AMERICA 150 clebrations in 2023
