144 hr visa. we do NOT qualify for this type of visa? Pls lmk ASAP. Ty

What's your next stop after Shanghai?

The first airport you land in after Shanghai has to be located in a different country, otherwise it's not transit. In this case you probably have a round trip ticket from AA which of course only operates direct flights from US to China, so it's absolutely not transit.

No we basically fly from the US to China go on a cruise to Japan then return to the US. Still assuming this doesn’t count?

You are ok with your air/cruise combination. It wasn't clear what the cruise itinerary was which caused the doubt.

SFO > LAX > Shanghai (up to 144 hours) > cruise to Japan is allowed as the first transit
Cruise from Japan > Shanghai (up to 144 hours) > DFW > SFO is allowed as a second transit.

As long as there are no unmentioned stops like connections in other Chinese cities or flights operated by Japan Airlines (this adding extra unmentioned japan landings) then its no problem.