WELCOME to Ask Zoe! Travel Counsellor Zoe Dean will help you find your perfect holiday.

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This week she gives us the lowdown on a different type of cruising..

Zoe will be tackling your holiday dilemmas every week.

Dear Zoe,

I want to take my husband away on a cruise for his 50th birthday. One of his hobbies is sailing and so we do not want one of these huge megaships but are looking for something a little more interesting.

Alison - Suffolk

Hi Alison

I think Star Clippers would be absolutely perfect for your husband – they are beautiful sailing ships that take around 200 guests, and The Royal Clipper is actually the largest fully rigged sailing ship in the world. She has two smaller sisters, the Star Flyer and the Star Clipper.

You didn’t mention the time of the year that you wanted to travel but Star Clippers offers itineraries in the Caribbean, the Far East and Polynesia in the winter months, and the Greek Islands, Italy and other parts of Europe in the summer months.

I recently sailed on The Royal Clipper from Venice, cruising down the coast of Croatia, Montenegro, Corfu, Sicily, Capri and Rome, and it was a wonderful trip and the ship is absolutely magical.

Star Clippers are perfect for people who are really interested in the ports of call and love to see a real working sailing ship in action, rather than those who like to be wined and dined and entertained and love to dress up for the occasion.

Although people smarten up for dinner on the Clippers, it is far more casual and relaxed – you can choose to dine with different people every night, or sit with your friends and even dine alone.

Most people seem to be fairly sociable though, and enjoy the experience of meeting lots of varied and new friends. There was a complete cross section of ages, nationalities and backgrounds when we were there and as it was the school holidays there were a few children and teenagers.

Entertainment was fairly basic, but again that is the charm of the ship – people were putting their own CDs on and dancing to them in the Tropical Bar, playing cards in the Piano Lounge, reading in the library or you could just go to the top deck and look out at the ocean and the stars as the ship glided through the water.

The cabins are quite compact with port holes and there are only a few cabins with balconies, so you would need to book quite quickly for one of these.

Food was first class and far better than the mass catering on the big ships. The staff were also extremely good and you pretty much got to know most of them by the end of the cruise.

Another bonus is that watersports are free and they also offer diving – I believe you just pay for the tanks. There is netting at the front of the ship and you can sunbathe in this as the ship sails, so you are directly over the water.

There is also the chance on a couple of occasions to climb the rigging (with a harness) and learn to read charts, so it’s a great cruise to keep ‘action man’ happy and occupied.

One main pool on deck and two plunge pools – beware ! The main pool has a glass bottom and you can be viewed from the open atrium of the lounge and dining room – not necessarily catching your bottom at the best angle!