Imminent RCL Entertainment Cutbacks

[firefly333]

11 hours ago, cusematt4 said:

Hi all,

 

Has anyone else heard that the head of RCL entertainment for the past 10 years and RCL have “parted ways” due to imminent entertainment cutbacks?  This is so upsetting.

 

Nick was the mastermind of RCLs entertainment from their investment in live music (tribute bands to stowaway piano to country band to full reggae bands to the 16 piece icon orchestra) to the innovative diving shows, ice shows, 270 shows, broadway shows and interrogation of technology into it all.

 

Nick and his team stressed the importance of investment and innovation, allowing for such variety and high quality not just at Royal Caribbean compared to competition but for any vacation.

 

Some people are saying there have been disagreements with leadership wanting to significantly cut entertainment budgets from the high quality production shows to the significant variety and quality of live music on ships.  

This is so disappointing as many of us cruise RCL compared to NCL and other lines due to their high quality and variety of above and beyond entertainment.  A sad day for the cruise industry and a company we love.  Hopefully they abort their pulling of resources and money into entertainment before it becomes noticeable.

I dont think rumors should be posted. You have no evidence just a rumor you posted thst entertainment will be cut back. Without any proof it's not great to post a rumor that you heard and not also say I heard this rumor . . Is it true .. post as if fact. This thread should be deleted imo. Post your opinions opinion not fact.

 

 

[Pratique]

4 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I dont think rumors should be posted. You have no evidence just a rumor you posted thst entertainment will be cut back. Without any proof it's not great to post a rumor that you heard and not also say I heard this rumor . . Is it true .. post as if fact. This thread should be deleted imo. Post your opinions opinion not fact.

 

 

It’s a fact that Nick was unceremoniously dismissed and immediately replaced with someone from the operations side. The company opened itself up to this speculation. And the most likely reason is probably the actual reason - a change in direction for entertainment. And probably not for the better because that would be too expensive..

[Cruise a holic]

15 minutes ago, FOXTROT said:

Agree 100%. Great show to put you to sleep.

We didn't like on broadway.  Unfortunately have been on the Oasis 3 times since CATs was the show.  We also have two more cruises on the Oasis, and we will not have a broadway show to attend.  The dates for the Oasis sailings work for us.  Fortunately we are sailing on the Symphony in three months and the show is Hairspray.  We love that show- think we saw on the Oasis many years ago and on Broadway. That show is full of energy and we will continue to enjoy it again.

[Biker19]

31 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I dont think rumors should be posted.

As @Beeline Cruiser would say, seriously? CC rumors are the norm around here.

[RFerrington]

As @Ourusualbeach said, these cutbacks started a long time ago and have just gotten worse with time.  Royal was always a stand-out with its excellent entertainment (on the big ships, anyway) and those have been replaced with cheap, homemade productions. .Icon is a bit of a step back to the "old" days but I don't expect this to be trend in the right direction. It's really sad to watch this decline the way it is going.  Who knows why Nick Weir is gone....there's simply no information about why, but I think it is a reasonable deduction that he was discharged, based on the cool "farewell" that he received from the Corporation.

[twangster]

I suppose this means Project Discovery won't have a lot of high tech on it.

 

A theater most likely.  Cover bands in some venues.  Sophisticated or advanced venues?  Unlikely.  

[cruiselvr04]

We cruise Royal for their nightly entertainment.  It’s the best.  Others are watered down.  We love live music on even the smaller ships, 4 singers in production shows not 2 like other lines.
 

Last cruise we had a couple that sang as well as a great guitarist. In addition there was a piano violin duo. This was in addition to the piano bar guy and production shows.  The ship pulled all the live music performers into a show together and it was great!  The orchestra played a John Williams number. This was all on a small ship.  Fabulous live entertainment! 

Live music in Central Park is one of our favorite things.  Karaoke gets old and is “free” entertainment for the cruise line. The live orchestra’s make the show and we love the “High Seas” orchestra solo acts. We miss the live music in the dining room - that was cut before covid.  

If cuts are made in entertainment Royal will lose us simply because then they become like all the rest.  There are people who are foodies.  We are music/entertainment people. We DO notice.

 

So I’m sure hoping it’s rumors and not cuts. 

 

[A&L_Ont]

8 minutes ago, RFerrington said:

As @Ourusualbeach said, these cutbacks started a long time ago and have just gotten worse with time.  Royal was always a stand-out with its excellent entertainment (on the big ships, anyway) and those have been replaced with cheap, homemade productions. .Icon is a bit of a step back to the "old" days but I don't expect this to be trend in the right direction. It's really sad to watch this decline the way it is going.  Who knows why Nick Weir is gone....there's simply no information about why, but I think it is a reasonable deduction that he was discharged, based on the cool "farewell" that he received from the Corporation.

 

I agree.  Add to that he did not announce his departure and RC had a replacement immediately taking his spot.  Had he left on his terms he would have announced his departure with a glowing review of his replacement. 

 

One can only hope that his leaving was not due to a medical/health issue. 

[FOXTROT]

1 hour ago, Cruise a holic said:

We didn't like on broadway.  Unfortunately have been on the Oasis 3 times since CATs was the show.  We also have two more cruises on the Oasis, and we will not have a broadway show to attend.  The dates for the Oasis sailings work for us.  Fortunately we are sailing on the Symphony in three months and the show is Hairspray.  We love that show- think we saw on the Oasis many years ago and on Broadway. That show is full of energy and we will continue to enjoy it again.

Glad you enjoy the show. We have tried several times at different venues. Results always the same, out of there before intermission.

[PhillyFan33579]

4 hours ago, BND said:

Well, with prices on everything going up, people still want cruise prices to be low even though it's not realistic at all.

I agree there are some people who want cruise prices to be low, but there are obviously a lot of people who don’t have an issue paying higher cruise fare based on current and future bookings. 

[PhillyFan33579]

2 hours ago, twangster said:

I suppose this means Project Discovery won't have a lot of high tech on it.

 

A theater most likely.  Cover bands in some venues.  Sophisticated or advanced venues?  Unlikely.  

Lots of “rumors” in this thread from the OP, subsequent responses and now a reference to Project Discovery, which has yet to be officially announced. If you are in the class that RCI is cutting everything (I am not for what it’s worth), it wouldn’t make sense to build a new smaller ship class, since RCI leadership has stated countless times larger ships generate more profit per passenger. 

[leaveitallbehind]

6 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Where a person started in the company years ago is entirely irrelevant.  Look at Michael Bayley, he started as a purser on the ships.

JMO but that is where he should have stayed!

[leaveitallbehind]

4 hours ago, Biker19 said:

As @Beeline Cruiser would say, seriously? CC rumors are the norm around here.

And we all know the dangers of when one assumes the facts not yet in evidence.

[firefly333]

5 hours ago, Pratique said:

It’s a fact that Nick was unceremoniously dismissed and immediately replaced with someone from the operations side. The company opened itself up to this speculation. And the most likely reason is probably the actual reason - a change in direction for entertainment. And probably not for the better because that would be too expensive..

Amazon just let someone go ... and many other companies are laying off. Or changing. Tesla 2 big wigs left. I think its presumptuous to make assumptions and post them as if they are facts why when you have no idea why they left or were let go.

 

Ok, no argument rumors run rampant. But cc usually has a little more sense and more experienced cruisers. I expect rumors on other social media more than here. Most here are smarter about cruising. 

[smokeybandit]

It's entirely possible the high tech stuff hasn't shown any ROI.

[HBE4]

Maybe it's a return to the basics for Royal. Goodbye Las Vegas style entertainment and Broadway shows and hello to the return of chocolate mints on the pillow*

 

* The above comment is not being presented as fact, speculation, rumor, gossip, or scuttlebutt. It's strictly for entertainment value. My entertainment 😉

 

Edited May 14 by HBE4

[Ocean Boy]

11 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

Maybe it's a return to the basics for Royal. Goodbye Las Vegas style entertainment and Broadway shows and hello to the return of chocolate mints on the pillow*

 

* The above comment is not being presented as fact, speculation, rumor, gossip, or scuttlebutt. It's strictly for entertainment value. My entertainment 😉

 

The last thing I need at the end of the day is a piece of candy to cover up the taste of all the great martinis I just finished drinking 🍸 as well as that awesome Sorrento's 🍕 I just ate.

[crzndeb]

13 hours ago, Cruising89143 said:

And what people would this be? Time will tell but right now it’s all hearsay. 

The Nextdoor neighbor’s, cousin, who’s ex husband’s teacher in 3rd grade, knew a dancer in a production show on the Oasis in 2016, and said Hi to Nick one time. 🙄 🤣🤣

[Pratique]

5 minutes ago, crzndeb said:

The Nextdoor neighbor’s, cousin, who’s ex husband’s teacher in 3rd grade, knew a dancer in a production show on the Oasis in 2016, and said Hi to Nick one time. 🙄 🤣🤣

"People are saying" is a thing apparently.

 

I've been in situations, more than once, where the boss was summarily dismissed and replaced without explanation. It is unsetting not knowing what's going on or what to expect next. I suspect that the new VP spent all day today talking to her team trying to ease concerns, probably because they have no idea why it happened either or what it means for them.

 

It is telling that the "well wishes" sentiment came from a spokesperson and is not attributed to an executive. Corporate America can be cold, harsh, and unforgiving. I think Nick deserved a better sendoff, but that's just me being compassionate for someone who gave 10 years to the company. in this role. Can't have compassion when you are in charge of big business, now can we?

[PACrew]

Given the timing, I doubt this is a cost cutting or directional change. You don’t post on twitter on Friday then get fired on Monday without a solid reason. Doesn’t make sense.  Hell, maybe he had personal/hr issues which were a liability to RCI? Maybe he has his own issues and needed to leave. Speculating on cost as the reason is short sighted. 

[BND]

9 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I agree there are some people who want cruise prices to be low, but there are obviously a lot of people who don’t have an issue paying higher cruise fare based on current and future bookings. 

There are, but many b**ch about paying more.  I see plenty of those complaining. Cruising isn't what it used to be at all.  It's been  "dumbed down" quite a bit.  How many of current cruisers  cruised as kids?  And, how many kids cruise now?  The expectations for vacations have changed a lot. When we were in our 20's and 30's and raising our kids a week at the beach was a big deal.  Families now have expectations that previous generations didn't.  I love when people complain about how they can't afford xyz with young kids.  LOL.  We were happy to have a townhouse and a weekend at the beach when ours kids were young.   The entitlement is extreme.  

[PhillyFan33579]

10 minutes ago, BND said:

There are, but many b**ch about paying more.  I see plenty of those complaining. Cruising isn't what it used to be at all.  It's been  "dumbed down" quite a bit.  How many of current cruisers  cruised as kids?  And, how many kids cruise now?  The expectations for vacations have changed a lot. When we were in our 20's and 30's and raising our kids a week at the beach was a big deal.  Families now have expectations that previous generations didn't.  I love when people complain about how they can't afford xyz with young kids.  LOL.  We were happy to have a townhouse and a weekend at the beach when ours kids were young.   The entitlement is extreme.  

Great post. Agree with everything you said. 

[HicksRA]

The thing that has turned me off is the double whammy. Raising prices sky high and reducing every aspect of the experience at the same time. I wouldn’t mind the higher prices, as I understand the state of the economy but Royal wants to charge filet mignon prices for a peanut butter sandwich. 🥪 

 

[goldfish65]

It's 2024, people can make up whatever they want and broadcast it as fact. 😂

[Twenty2020]

2 hours ago, BND said:

There are, but many b**ch about paying more.  I see plenty of those complaining. Cruising isn't what it used to be at all.  It's been  "dumbed down" quite a bit.  How many of current cruisers  cruised as kids?  And, how many kids cruise now?  The expectations for vacations have changed a lot. When we were in our 20's and 30's and raising our kids a week at the beach was a big deal.  Families now have expectations that previous generations didn't.  I love when people complain about how they can't afford xyz with young kids.  LOL.  We were happy to have a townhouse and a weekend at the beach when ours kids were young.   The entitlement is extreme.  

 

 

Lots of truth to that. I'm only early 40s and we are taking my kids (9/6) on a cruise next year. When I was growing up cruises were only something my grandparents did. We took nice vacations but cruising was considered a step up in vacationing. I went on my first when I was early 20s... And that was considered young. There weren't that many people my age and that was 2004 on Adventure. 

 

Royal's target market has changed considerably and I think they are struggling to balance not losing their long-time customers while also appealing to a different market. Those kind of shifts take a long time to play out. 10 years from now RCL is going to look like a very different product. 

Edited May 15 by Twenty2020