Does the visa free transit apply to arrival on cruises?

Yes, 24/144 hours visa free transit applies also for cruise ships and before the pandemic breakout, exactly the passengers from cruise ships were among the most numerous users of this visa free option.

You should, however, keep one very important detail in mind. To be able to use 144 hours visa free transit in the wider Shanghai area, your itinerary has to be:

Country A - Shanghai (mainland China) B - Country C.

Here you can have Taiwan or Hong Kong considered as third countries/regions, so that you now this detail for your orientation.

So, an itinerary like this one:

South Korea - Shanghai - Taiwan

You are perfectly eligible for visa free transit...

Quite the contrary an itinerary like this one:

Japan - Tianjin (mainland China) - Shanghai (mainland China) - Taiwan

You would not be eligible for visa free option in both Tianjin and Shanghai.

Cruise ship operators usually have this detail when making their itineraries, so most of their itineraries satisfy the conditions for 144 hours visa free transit. Also, you can come here to check whether your itinerary is eligible or not, of course.