Smartphone carrier may not be a great idea

Disconnect with an iPhone carrier

The Dec. 6 “Need to Know” column introduces and expounds on a new product to carry around the iPhone 6s Plus called the “Snap Back Case,” which includes a cross-body strap.

The item states, “There are many wonderful things about the new gargantuan iPhone 6s Plus, but carrying it around is not one of them.” The maker of this new product apparently is not privy to the reality of owning a smartphone and how it’s treated by a typical young person who probably wouldn’t even consider not carrying around his or her iPhone for the world to see.

To think that someone would intentionally hide, transport and not display their little world device would be no less than a grand lesson in futility.

Bill Spitalnick

Newport

Remembering Rangiroa

Thanks so much to An Amlotte for reminding me of one my treasured destinations, Rangiroa [“Island Reboot,” Nov. 22]. I first visited in 1983, returned twice. One of my most memorable travel experiences was shooting the pass, rocketing over coral and sharks, and ending breathless in the lagoon.

Linda Church-Cone

Yorba Linda

Fees jack up room rate

“Rooms ... can be snagged for as little as $79.” [“Off-Strip Show,” by Jay Jones, Nov. 22]. Really? How about daily resort fees, parking fees and local taxes?

That $79 room probably ends up in the $100-$120 range. The airlines were recently forced to advertise the actual price paid by fliers. The Times’ articles are great, but money-on-the-counter prices for hotel rooms would be appreciated.

Bob Munson

Newbury Park

Let down by trip insurance

After the recent On the Spot columns about travel insurance [“7 Tips on Trip Insurance,” by Catharine Hamm, Nov. 22], I would like to tell you about something that happened to my wife and me. My wife has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. We were on a Panama Canal cruise. We purchased trip insurance when we paid for the cruise through our travel agency.

My wife became ill onboard the ship and had to see the doctor twice within a three-day period. The cost of the doctor visits and medication were added to our ship’s bill.

We sent a request for reimbursement within a week of our return to the trip insurance office and to Medicare. We were denied by both. Both said it was beyond their coverage.

Never again will we purchase trip insurance.

Stu Lovett

North Hills