NIEUW AMSTERDAM EXPEDITION

 ON JULY 7 myself and my sister ROSEMARY boared the NIEUW AMSTERDAM at WHIITER ALASKA and left for hubbard glaicer in YAKUTAT BAY . we left WHIITER at 7.45pm and on our way  out of WHITTER we went by PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND and saw were the tanker EXON VALDEZ ran aground in march 1989. but there was not lot to see inculding the town of VALDEZ in the disstance but it was intresting to see that part of ALASKA i have never seen before. the next morning we came into YAKUTAT BAY and onto HUBBARD GLACIER wich we did not come close to but a boat named ST .THEODOSIUS came and pick up some of our passengers and took them very close to the hubbard glacier but we did not pay for that but got good vieus of it and YAKUTAT BAY on our way out back in the gulf of alaska . the next day we came into GLACIER BAY and saw hupback whale near us and other wildlife and got close to the glacier at glacier bay wich we went to on our last cruise to alaska but has not change much in the last year we were there and glacier bay is worth seeing and very well protected  since it national park under the US PARK SERVICE . then atfer that we came to SKAGWAY and had to take a tender to get into town because of slide that happened next to the dock it was very crowded in the tender boat and it was intresting trip in it since i have never been in ships liferboat but it very short trip only took less 10 min to get to the other dock and back to the ship . wile we were there there were onther ships in town wich were the NORWEGIAN ENCORE and the SAPPHIRE PRINCESS wich were dock just across from us . wile we were on the NIEUW AMSTERDAM i got to look around the ship and see things that were intresting including the plaque of her beeing christing by the PRINCESS OF THE NETHERLANDS on july 4 2010 in ITLAY were she was built and other historcal things to do with the NIEUW AMSTERDAM wich is the 4 one built in the history of HOLLAND AMERICA LINE and other historcal photos of there ships long each deck of cabins wich was worth seeing. then after we left SKAGWAY we arived in JUNEAU and were only in town for only few hours because we been here many times seen ever thing but i was nice to see JUNEAU  and see if anything changed since we were a year ago but nothing has changed in this city from what saw . then after that we went onto KETCHIKAN were i got to see some ALASKA FERRIES wich one them was laid up wich was the COLUMBIA wich i rode on her from KETCHIKAN to BELLINGHAM WA in june 1999 wich was very intresting trip but since the ALASKA MARINE HIGHWAY has been have financial problems in serveral years now there laid yp the COLUMBIA and her sister ship MATANUSKA too wich i saw her there in town that to bad the AMH has been having financial problems i hope the GOV of ALASKA get this shoreted out since the people  of ALASKA depend on the ALASKA MAINE HIGHWAY to get to were they need to go. the next day after we left KETCHIKAN we sailed south in hectate strait for VANCOUVER and just as we got close to PINE ISLAND the cruise ships CELEBRITY SOLSTICE and the BRILLANCE OF THE SEAS right behind us and followed all the way home to vancouver wich was great to see. when we passed PINE ISLAND at around 3.30pm the pilot came onboard from the pilot boat R.D RILEY and after he drop off the piolt for us they went onto the CELEBRITY SOLSTICE and the BRILLANCE OF THE SEAS wich we behind us . on the way to johnstone strait we passed a US cargo ship the COASTAL PROGRESS wich was on it way to ALASKA wich owened by COASTAL TRANSPORTION of SEATTLE wich use to see ads about them in shipping magainzes . then we entred johnston strait we came by two hupback whales and one came right up to the ship wich i have never seen one that close i was very big thing to see but the whale moved very quickly since he or she know there ship going by and had to get out of the way that pat of the coast you wil see whale and dolphins too wich i did further down johnstone strait and when we got just north of seymour narrows around  9.15pm i went to bed. the next morning we arvied in VANCOUVER wich was great to se were home and breakfast on the ship before we got off and headed for home overall the cruise on the NIEUW AMSTERDAM was worth doing because we got to see part of ALASKA we never seen and i got onther holland america ship wich had lot history of HOLLAND AMERICA and it home country of the NETHERLANDS  on this  ship and i found intresting so the cruise on the NIEUW AMSTERDAM was intresting and very ejoyable