Online iCloud is required when synchronizing contacts and calendars between iPhone and iTunes in the new Mac OS X 10.9 (Mavericks).
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH12117 from http://www.macworld.com/article/2057971/sync-contacts-and-calendars-with-your-ip hone-via-itunes-not-in-mavericks-you-dont.html ...
That's disappointing. Not going to use 10.9 version then for its cloud backups then. Sticking with 10.8.x. I don't like the latest Apple the last few years.
MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.5), 13.3" (9,2/MD102ll/A)