More than 100 Australians stranded on Spectrum of the Seas cruise ship in Japan

Australian passengers trapped on a broken-down cruise ship in Japan say they are being kept on board without access to their passports.

The Spectrum of the Seas is moored in Yokohama for what Royal Caribbean called “unplanned maintenance”.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Aussies among thousands stuck on cruise ship in Japan.

It was meant to have departed two days ago, with the delay throwing the itineraries of the 111 Australians on board out the window.

Steve and Karen Dermietzel told 7NEWS their passports are with the crew and they are not allowed off.

“They won’t allow us onto the Japanese land. It’s weird because in the last 16 days we’ve been on Japanese land on five different occasions,” Steve said.

The seven-day cruise launched in Shanghai last weekend, stopping at ports in Kobe, Osaka and Yokohama.

The vessel — which is also carrying 3500 Chinese tourists, 60 Americans, and some from Great Britain — was due to return to Shanghai on Saturday but will not get there until Monday.

The Dermietzels said travellers had been frustrated by a lack of communication from the cruise operation.

“They don’t give us enough information though, and they blame Royal Caribbean saying it’s being handled by head office and therefore due to US time, there’s a time-(lag) as well,” Karen said.

The company has offered $600 per passenger to re-book disrupted travel.

The Dermietzels say that is not enough to cover their costs, but they are backed by insurance.

A spokesperson for the Royal Caribbean said it was sorry for the delay.

“We apologise to our guests for the inconvenience and are communicating with our guests directly,” the rep said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was aware a number of Australians were travelling on the vessel which was delayed by “unscheduled repairs”.