Having been on the previous cruise (31 July, Istanbul-Rome), as well as Beijing-Hong Kong (in March/April) we can concur about the 'local selling opportunities'. Someone at Oceania HQ is clearly of the view that US/Canadian citizens 'of a certain age' (70-80% of the passengers in March, and probably 40-50% in August) want nothing more than to spend time and money being sold to, even at the expense of the sights that most 'normal' people have come to see. If I go to Kusadasi, it's to stroll round Ephesus, NOT to run breathlessly round it so I can spend an hour back in Kusadasi where they try really hard to sell you a carpet.