Next month we fly from Amsterdam, with a stop over in Frankfurt, to Shanghai.

Your itinerary:

Amsterdam - Frankfurt - Shanghai - Japan

Is definitely eligible for 144 hour visa free transit in Shanghai. After Shanghai you will take a 14-Day Taiwan & Japan cruise.

You should have your flight and cruise tickets in hard copy (simple printouts) and you will declare in Frankfurt that you will travel to Japan via Shanghai using 144 hour visa free transit. OK, you can declare the same thing also in Amsterdam, but since this will be a Schengen flight, I seriously doubt that they will be too much interested to bother with this detail. Quite the contrary, an airport staff in Frankfurt will have to inspect shortly your tickets and very soon you will be allowed to board the plane for Shanghai. This is all done during the check-in process and you don't need to inform an airline in advance. You will do everything upon your arrival at the airport.

Since you will already have used an online platform to make your application online, it will help you somewhat not to bother yourselves with the filling out of the blue form at the 144 hour TWOV counter in Shanghai. Anyway, you will still have to fill out an arrival/departure card because this is a separate form that has to be filled out by every passenger regardless of his/her status when he/she lands in China. You will receive this form on board the plane, usually a couple of hours before landing.

Thank you!