Can cruisers avoid being Shanghaied?

Have a question? Ask our expert Simon Calder

A journey involving a domestic flight on Air China to Beijing and then onwards to the UK is indirect (AFP)

Q I have read a number of articles you have written about visa rules for China, in particular for people joining or leaving cruises in Shanghai.

I booked a cruise that ended in Shanghai. The travel company booked us on Air China flights via a two-hour stopover in Beijing back to the UK. Bearing in mind that we were not going to leave the airport, I considered the flight to be “direct” and didn’t go through the hassle of getting visas.

How wrong could I be? We were told by the cruise line that we couldn’t even dock in Shanghai without a visa unless we booked new flights direct back to the UK. A big mistake which cost us circa £600. Can you make it clear that flights cannot go via anywhere in China, even if you are not even leaving the transit lounge?

Brian O

A I am sorry to hear about your experience. To avoid the expensive and difficult procedure for obtaining a Chinese visa, it is well worth meeting the conditions for Shanghai’s 144-hour visa-free transit permit. As I have sought to make clear, the traveller must arrive in Shanghai direct from country A with a booking to depart direct to country B by midnight on the sixth day after arrival.

As you will have spotted, the key word here is “direct”. The basic test is: “Am I boarding a plane or a ship which is going somewhere outside China?”

Unfortunately you were not leaving direct to country B, but instead flying to Beijing. A journey involving a domestic flight on Air China to Beijing and then onwards to the UK is indirect. Therefore the cruise line was correct to insist that you booked a direct flight out of Shanghai.

It is extremely unfortunate that the travel firm which sold you the flight and cruise decided to book you on plane tickets which breached the straightforward conditions for the 144-hour permit. If it is a member of ABTA, the travel association, it should adhere to the code of conduct which requires agents to “advise their clients of passport, visa and other entry and transit requirements for the journeys to be undertaken where it is reasonably practicable for the members to obtain this information”. This should be done before you hand over any money.

As the travel company did not warn you about the trouble its intended flight booking would cause, I suggest you invite it to pay for the extra costs you incurred.

Every day, our travel correspondent, Simon Calder, tackles a reader’s question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder