Flights to Istanbul?

Hi - Newbie here! Posted this on another forum thread but not sure if it is the right one - so will post here, as well. My husband is a fairly junior Delta pilot (2007) and I am trying this non-rev travel thing solo for the first time. Hoping some of you experienced travelers might be able to advise on a plan of action for me. My 12 yr. old son & I are booked on an 11 day cruise departing from IST on Oct. 17. Originally, flights from JFK to IST looked good departing on or around 15 Oct. Now.. not so much :-( So, I am now scrambling to figure out alternatives - either dates or other airlines that might be workable for us. Husband will not be coming with us. Any suggestions as to alternative routes I could possibly take to make this cruise in time? Also, I understand probable return date 28 Oct. is load optimized, so I am planning on getting ZED fare tickets in advance on Air France to CDG & Turkish Air to AMS. Any place else I am missing? Additionally, can anyone tell me if these ZED tickets are the same as ID90s? They do have to be purchased in advance stateside - correct? But how does the listing work - is that done stateside, as well or at the ticket counter in country of departure? One final question - if I am lucky enough to make this cruise I will probably need a hotel in IST - the one I had booked they have apparently lost the reservation & it is now full :mad: Might be a good thing anyway, as now I'm not sure if I'll even get there... but if we are successful, does anyone have any hotel recommendations? I considered an Accor hotel, but Husband is clueless on how the Accor thing works - apparently we need a special number from Delta? Anyway, I realize this is kinda last minute so don't expect many replies, but one can hope right?! Thanks!