Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) will pull its 167,700-gt cruiseship Norwegian Joy (built 2017) out of the Chinese cruise market next year, replacing it with the 75,300-gt Norwegian Spirit (built 1998), a ship that is nearly half its size.

This shifting of ships is yet another concrete sign that the Chinese cruise market has not fully lived up to the hype about its vast potential growth possibilities and its need for the biggest and newest ships.