7 night Cruise

Do I properly understand that your flight itinerary, if we take all the details into account, is the following:

Phoenix - Seattle - Taiwan - Shanghai

Followed by cruise that departs from Shanghai with, so far unknown itinerary

Shanghai - Taiwan - Seattle - Phoenix

So far, we need cruise details because they are essential to determine if your itinerary is eligible for two visa free schemes, one on cruise departure and another at cruise arrival.

Just for your information... If the first cruise port call is in a country different than Taiwan and mainland China, this is fine. Also, if the last cruise port call, immediately before Shanghai, is not in Taiwan or mainland China, then you are fine again. In other words, it is essential to have immediate points before and after Shanghai in two different countries or eligible territories (Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau). So if your itinerary, when we combine flights and the cruise is something like this:

Taiwan (flight) - Shanghai (cruise) - South Korea

Then, this is fine and eligible for visa free transit... Also, if your return itinerary is something like this:

Hong Kong (cruise) - Shanghai (flight) - Taiwan

Then you are fine too. However, if you have something like this:

Taiwan (flight) - Shanghai (cruise) - Taiwan

Then you need a visa for this because this is considered to be a return journey and not a transit. Please, if you wish, you can supply us with the cruise details, so that we can tell you about your eligibility with certainty.

Yes, sorry about that. Cruis is Shanghai > Kobe, Japan > Osaka, Japan > Tokyo, Japan > Shanghai.

It sounds like this would qualify? Since my cruise is 7 nights (longer than 144 hours), how do I apply for the second 144 hour visa?

Hi, Jordan, if I understand properly, your itineraries concerning about Shanghai should be:
Taiwan --- fly to Shanghai --- cruise to Japan
Japan --- cruise to Shanghai --- fly to Taiwan

In fact, you are eligible for the 144-hour visa-free transit twice if your each stay in Shanghai is less than 144 hours.

Thank you! How do I apply for the second 144 hour visa when I return from the cruise?

Indeed, this is definitely eligible for visa free transit scheme and no visas are needed. During your first stay in Shanghai, you will be covered by 144 hour visa free transit since your stay will be longer than 24 hours and during your second stay, you will be covered by 24 hour visa free transit because your stay, based on your statement that you will be leaving Shanghai on the same day, will be shorter than 24 hours. This is all fine and you do not need any kind of visa.

I know I get the 144 hour visa stamp at the airport when we arrive, but do I need to do anything to get the 24 hour visa when we return from the cruise and head to the airport?

You may also get a stamp of 24 hour at the cruise terminal.