In an early scene, Emily is shown using a marker to draw a caricature of herself into a photograph with Commander Gordon. The photo is shown again two more times in the movie, and each time the drawing is slightly different.
When the Princess and Fred are getting up from the lounge chairs on the boat deck, the Princess's scarf is stuck to the sequins on her dress while sitting down but in the next shot when they are standing, the scarf is hanging loose by her side.
While the Old Maid is dancing with Fred Hill, after her hat falls off her head, it changes positions while hanging from her neck.
At the beginning of the movie, when Fred tries to open his umbrella after work, the height at which he holds the umbrella changes between shots.
When Fred and Emily are drinking with the Princess, at first, they are sitting far apart from each other then in the next shot, they are nearly touching.
The same sunset is used in different shots/days on board ship.
When the Princess made her final exit, Fred and Emily kept chasing away the man who came to clean the room. At the end of the scene, the man was standing in the doorway saying something, but cannot be heard because the audio was removed.
The American title ''East of Shanghai'' reveals slight ignorance of Asian geography. The furthest east Fred and Em get is Singapore, which lies about 2000 kilometres (1250 miles) west of the meridian of Shanghai.