B away is an independent travel agent, nestled in the walkway from Pinner High Street to Marks & Spencer. They have several arms of their business, and have a cruise specialist too. They seem to have every brochure ever printed and definitely can help you plan an amazing trip!
I've been in a few times, which is saying something as I'm quite happy to book all of my own travel online. Travel agents can just do the odd thing easier than I can. They were very helpful when we had a completed flight booking for one person, and wanted to book for another person and link the reservations and book seats. They did come up more expensive than if I had done it online myself though, as they charge a flat commission on some things (like flights). When I mentioned that I'd just go home and book it to save the £25, as I found it cheaper online, they immediately matched the price and made the booking.
The other couple of times we've been in is to discuss cruises. We've been on a few and really enjoy them, but as we're new to it, some advice is always helpful. I'm very keen to go to St Petersburg and they even suggested a specialist ferry/cruise service that they can book, that I'd never even heard of (it wasn't for us, but still!) I do find that the cruise specialist is really knowledgeable but he does push the more expensive lines. But when it comes down to it, he is right, the lines he's suggesting are a better fit to our personality and what we want out of a holiday - even though we can't yet make it there with our budget. And while he may encourage us to upscale, he doesn't discourage us from our choice. A good compromise!
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