JoCo Cruise Helpers
Ways to be a Helper aboard JoCo Cruise 2025
JoCo Cruise Helpers are central to what we most value as a community. They give their time and energy to support both a boat full of enthusiastic (and occasionally overwhelmed) attendees and the equally excited (and also often overwhelmed) JoCo Staff. Our Helper Squad ensures that first-timers, as well as veteran JoCo Cruise attendees, have the best possible time on our beloved Nerd Boat! Helping makes some folks happy, and we’re immensely grateful for it.
JoCo Cruise has many, many activities and ways to enjoy yourself. (Maybe too many!) For that reason, Helper opportunities are only open to returning attendees who have already had a chance to explore the event and understand how they like to enjoy themselves. If it’s your first year, the best way to help is by having the best time and meeting new people. Being a welcoming and kind person makes everyone’s cruise better!
Because of their high visibility, Helpers should take extra care to read, understand, respect, and abide by the JoCo Cruise Code of Conduct. Due to the sensitive nature of any Code of Conduct reports or issues, Helpers must immediately escalate any Code of Conduct issues reported to them, and work hard to be helpful but not personally engage with or attempt to resolve any Code of Conduct issues. JoCo Cruise has official positions dedicated to handling Code of Conduct-related concerns.
Ways to be a Helper
Embarkation
Help first-time attendees during the embarkation process! We’re looking for folks who can help folks get the swag they want and navigate the terminal! Your total time commitment will be about two hours.
There are a few ways to help with this:
In The Terminal
8-10 needed
They will:
- Hand out/explain Friendshipping Buttons
- Hand out First Sailing Buttons
- Hand out swag
- Hand out the ship map pamphlets
- Help with line management/crowd control when needed
ONBOARD The SHIP
8-10 needed
They will:
- Hand out Lanyards
- Hand out Badges
- Help with Sharpies and Tape
- Help with line management/crowd control when needed
Decor SetUp
A part of the fun of JoCo Cruise is that we take over the whole ship, and can decorate it as we like! There’s a short amount of time to get everything set up on the first day. We will ask that you unpack and prep decor items on the first day. Your total time commitment will be roughly two hours.
6-8+ Needed
THEY WILL:
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Collect decor staging materials
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Blow up any inflatable decorations
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Secure inflatable decorations with
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3M strips and monofilament
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Assemble cardboard standees (Waves & Tentacles go in the Atrium on the main deck, Robot & Willy Wonka locations are TBD)
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Hang posters and other art (designated areas will be assigned as we get closer to the day)
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Non-destructively break down and store packing supplies for future use
GENERAL SetUp SUPPORT
We unpack a lot of stuff in a short amount of time on the first day and could use some support to make sure that everything is where it’s supposed to be! We will ask that you check in with our team onboard and then help with whatever tasks we have open. Your total time commitment will be roughly two hours.
8 Needed
They will:
- Act as ‘runners’ checking on different areas of the ship, and making sure that needed items are delivered to the correct locations.
Dinner Host
Our dinner seating process allows everyone to select their own table. This can be overwhelming for some, so we are looking for some friendly folks who are looking to meet new people! This year we are designating the Ocean Bar as a place for folks to meet up before dinner! We will ask that you get to the Ocean Bar 10 minutes early, and be comfortable initiating conversation and reaching out to people who seem like they could use a seat! Your total time commitment will be the length of dinner plus a few extra minutes.
24 Needed
They will:
- Host a reserved dinner table for new attendees who want to make new friends!
- Enjoy dinner and keep the conversation flowing
- Be available during dinner seating for the first few nights to help answer any questions folks have about how dinner seating works
HEADCOUNT
While we get support from the staff of the Nieuw Amsterdam in collecting headcounts at the main concerts, there are many of us and few of them, and they could use some support. This task ends when the show starts, so it won’t conflict with being able to attend the show! Your total time commitment would be 30 minutes a night for 2 nights (1 hour total).
3-5 Needed
They will:
- Meet up with the ship’s staff 30 minutes before the show starts
- Collect their clicker and go to the door they’ll watch
- Count heads
- Turn in their counts when the show starts, then grab a seat and enjoy the show!
Peer Reporting Organization Worker (PROW)
People may experience situations onboard that do not rise to the level of a Code of Conduct concern but do impact their JoCo Cruise experience in a meaningful way, and THO wants to know about these experiences. The PROW role is designed to be a friendly and comfortable point of contact that will collect details about these experiences and report them to THO. The information you gather about concerns or problems that we might not otherwise be aware of will help us create improvements in future sailings.
As a member of the PROW team, you will help improve the effectiveness and specificity of individual attendee feedback by working with your peers to collect feedback about their experiences into a daily report for THO to review and/or address.
This role is not involved in issue resolution, and attendees may provide you with reports they wish to share with THO for information only. Should a Code of Conduct issue arise it should be escalated to the Ships Listener via the standard process (calling or completing the form).
We will need up to 10 PROWs from a variety of communities and lived experiences
They will:
- Be a point of contact for their community, identify themselves as a peer and a member of their community with their own lived experience
- Report concerns to Thera Heller daily and escalate as needed
- Attend events relevant to their community and be in online community spaces when possible
- Let community members know how, when, and in what spaces they will be available to collect experiences, concerns, and successes
Positive Post-It Team
Small anonymous letters of joy, support, and love posted around the ship throughout the sailing are a lovely part of the experience. We’ll supply the Post-its and pens, you supply the positivity.
2-4 Needed
They will:
- Spread good vibes
- Have a great time
Anti-Gravity Derby
The Anti-Gravity Derby is a great time! We need Help moving furniture out of the way of both the Landing Zone as well as the Drop Zone, organizing the competitors, and then moving furniture back.
4-6 Needed
They will:
- Assist with crowd control
- Move some tables and chairs before the event starts and replace them when it’s over
- Help keep track of who should compete next
MODERATION SUPPORT
Twit-arr is a fun part of our cruise, allowing conversations, jokes, and planning to happen in the appropriate forums (Twit-arr will no longer have a main feed). Since this is a virtual space it does require some moderation. Moderators allow the community to thrive in a positive manner, and ensure that our updated Twit-arr Guidelines and Code of Conduct are being followed. We will ask that you take time during your assigned shift to review any flagged messages, respond to concerns, and work with the other mods and assigned support staff to resolve or escalate issues as needed. You will have access to moderator tools within Twit-arr and will function within a team. No one will need to make a difficult decision alone, and the monitoring of adult content is optional.
12-16 Needed
They will:
- Help maintain a positive flow of conversation in the various forums
- Review any flagged or reported messages
- Point posters to appropriate resolution pathways as needed
- Work with JoCo Staff as well as the other members of the team to resolve issues
CRAFT ROOM
Craft Room Helpers bring their mad craft skills to the seas, helping teach skills and showing folks how to use the tools of their trade in the craft room. They coordinate with our wonderful Craft Room team in advance and the craft room schedule determines their time commitment.
Pack-Up Support
Packing up all of our supplies, games, offices, tchotchkes, and every single item we need to make JoCo Cruise magical is a huge effort. We could use some help with things like counting inventory, taking down signs, and making sure that our staff has tape (we use a LOT of tape). As the saying goes, many hands make light work. Your total time commitment will be about two hours.
We will need up to 20 pack-up support helpers in the following ways:
Console Gaming Pack-up
2-4 Needed
Our pals from World 9 Gaming could use some assistance packing up the amazing array of consoles they bring onboard. If you’re detail-oriented, comfortable with cable management, and willing to take direction we could use your help.
Decor Pack-up
4-6 Helpers
A part of the fun of JoCo Cruise is that we take over the whole ship, and can decorate it as we like! There’s a short amount of time to get everything packed up on the final day. This may include rebuilding boxes, removing adhesives from decor, and making note of any damaged items. We will ask that you locate, gather, and pack decor items on the final day.
THO Pack-up
8-10 Helpers
We have teams in a lot of places during pack-up and could use help from people who are willing to get supplies to teams in need, sort or count items so that we know what we’re packing up, help us disassemble shelves and reassemble boxes, and be available for whatever other support may be needed.
VOLUNTEERING TO BE A HELPER
If, after reviewing the descriptions above, you’d like to join the 2025 Helper ranks, please log into your JoCo Cruise User Account and select the “Helper Signup Form” in the Helpful Links section. (The form will prompt you to log into your JoCo Cruise User Account if necessary.)
Reminder: we do not utilize first-time cruisers as Helpers. We appreciate first-timers’ willingness to help out, but it’s important to us that people on their first JoCo Cruise spend that time enjoying and getting familiar with the event and the community.
