The ship carries over to the movies, sure. And then disappears. It doesn't change anything much; ST:INS introduces a number of auxiliary craft that actually play a dramatic role in the movie, making a much bigger impact than the mere swapping of one hero starship design for another.
"How Earth made first contact with alien life" is the topic of that movie, and then becomes irrelevant and is never discussed again - just as the fountain of youth in ST:INS.
Uniform change counts as "happening"?
I guess we'll have to agree to disagree: the movies IMHO are standalone installments with no impact on the rest of Trek, or on each other (the costume, prop and model budget spilling over notwithstanding). The heroes don't change, evolve or devolve in any way, except inside each movie, after which there is a reset. Sure, Data dies at the end, but that's the end of the whole kaboodle: there's no TNG Trek beyond that death. Oh, and Riker shaves.
Timo Saloniemi