Nick Weir is out at Royal Caribbean.
Royal Caribbean announced a shakeup within its Entertainment division on Monday with the announcement of a new leader in the division.
Effective immediately, Christine Coachman is the Vice President, Entertainment for Royal Caribbean International.
She replaces Nick Weir, who has left the company after 10 years with the company.
A spokesperson wished Mr. Weir well, "We thank Nick for his contributions over the years and wish him all the best."
An internal announcement by Royal Caribbean Senior Vice President of Hotel Operations, Sean Treacy, confirmed the switch.
"Please join me in congratulating Christine Coachman on her new role as Vice President, Entertainment for Royal Caribbean International, effective today," the announcement read.
"Drawing from nearly 35 years-experience at Royal Caribbean, Christi will now lead the team responsible for bringing to life the best entertainment at sea. She will oversee the cruise line’s onboard entertainment and guest activities programming, as well as Royal Caribbean Productions, the industry’s only in-house department that creates, produces and manages the largest entertainment operation at sea."
He added, "I am excited to work even more closely with Christi as we continue to lead the industry in innovating the entertainment experience at sea."
Mr. Weir has been at the helm of Entertainment for Royal Caribbean since 2013.
He joined Royal Caribbean with more than 25 years of experience in both the entertainment and cruise industries. He came from an entertainment family, with his mother an accomplished cruise entertainer and his father was a pioneering Cruise Director.
Prior to working with Royal Caribbean, he owned and operated an entertainment consulting company with projects that included television and live event production services, speech and script writing, entertainment program analysis and solution development, charity event/live auction production, corporate video production, cruise industry start-up projects and Cruise Director services.
Mr. Weir had been at the forefront of so many of Royal Caribbean's Entertainment projects. He had recently talked about a 10 year plan for the cruise line to incorporate robotics into more shows and guest experiences.
Meet Christine Coachman
Ms. Coachman takes over the Entertainment division, and brings plenty of experience to the role.
She began her career as a dancer and went on to perform in many shows, events and conventions around the world before she joined the Entertainment Department at Royal Caribbean.
She has written, cast and produced numerous productions for the cruise line and was previously responsible for the daily operation of front and back of house on board for all Produced Entertainment, including the fully licensed Broadway and West End Musicals, Signature Theater Productions, World Class Ice Productions, Spectacular Aquatic Shows and Two70 shows.
She also managed the line's extensive Entertainment Studios in North Miami.
Nick Weir's legacy
Following his departure on Monday, Mr. Weir leaves behind a decade of industry changes.
His most recent accomplishments can be seen on Royal Caribbean's blockbuster Icon of the Seas, which features variety of new shows and venues.
With Icon, the AquaTheater was moved indoors and expanded within the new AquaDome neighborhood. Plus, the ice skating rink was converted from square to oval shaped. In both cases, this was done to address performance needs and open up more possibilities.
Under Weir, Royal Caribbean developed a variety of original productions, such as Columbus the Musical, Effectors, Flight, Aqua 80s, and many more.
Mr. Weir also holds a few patents that are part of the Royal Caribbean cruise experience.
Weir is listed as a patent author for the eMuster process that allows guests to conduct much of the mandatory maritime safety drill digitally.
He also patented show elements, such as the Water-based Pyrotechnic Illusion.
He was also fascinated by drones, as is evident in their utilization in Royal Caribbean's latest shows, as well as for the recent re-launch of Spectrum of the Seas in Asia.
How does this change impact cruises for guests?
We don't have details yet on what the future of the Entertainment division will look like, but in the short term, don't expect any noticeable changes onboard.
Entertainment on ships sailing follows a set pattern, and shows rarely change on ships. The hiring of new casts, execution of productions in place now, and scheduling will all continue as normal.
It's also likely plans for getting all the shows on Icon of the Seas fully operational as well as the show line-up for Utopia of the Seas are in place already.
The earliest possibility for a shift could come with Star of the Seas next year, as well as notable ship overhauls. Allure of the Seas is scheduled for a major refurbishment in 2025 and when sister ship Oasis of the Seas had similar work done, new shows were added at that time.
