Cruise ship query

Your itinerary, if accurately presented, is definitely eligible for 24 hour visa free transit and you don't need any kind of visa. As you can see, your itinerary, as far as the mainland China immigration is concerned is:

Hong Kong - Shanghai - Busan

In other words, everything is literally ideal and there is no need that a cruise company prepare any kind of paperwork. You will simply exit the ship, appear at the relevant 24 hour visa free transit counter where you will present your passport and the printout of your cruise ticket that will give to the official a clear picture that you are just in a transit.

Of course, a cruise company could make you a favor and insure to supply you with relevant forms while you are still on the sea, so that you are totally prepared with filled out forms ready to be handed over to the Chinese authorities. You can ask them for such a favor and as far as I know, they sometimes do that and sometimes don't. In any case, this is really not a problem because you are perfectly within the legal frames of visa free transit rules.