Leases - Narrative (Details) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($) ship	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($) ship extension_option
Lessee, Lease, Description [Line Items]
Variable lease cost \| $	$ 17.3	$ 73.1
Pullmantur
Lessee, Lease, Description [Line Items]
Percentage of subsidiary which has been sold	51.00%	51.00%
Cruise ships
Lessee, Lease, Description [Line Items]
Number of ships under finance leases \| ship	2	2
Additional lease term	6 years	6 years
Real Estate
Lessee, Lease, Description [Line Items]
Additional lease term	5 years	5 years
Finance lease term	43 years	43 years
Number of extension options \| extension_option		2
Minimum \| Real Estate
Lessee, Lease, Description [Line Items]
Renewal term	1 year	1 year
Minimum \| Berthing Agreement
Lessee, Lease, Description [Line Items]
Renewal term	1 year	1 year
Maximum \| Real Estate
Lessee, Lease, Description [Line Items]
Renewal term	10 years	10 years
Maximum \| Berthing Agreement
Lessee, Lease, Description [Line Items]
Renewal term	20 years	20 years

Lessee, Finance Lease, Number Of Extension Options

No definition available.

Name:	rcl_LesseeFinanceLeaseNumberOfExtensionOptions
Namespace Prefix:	rcl_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Lessee, Finance Lease, Number Of Units

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	rcl_LesseeFinanceLeaseNumberOfUnits
Namespace Prefix:	rcl_
Data Type:	xbrli:decimalItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Represents the percentage of subsidiary which has been sold.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	rcl_PercentageofSubsidiaryWhichHasBeenSold
Namespace Prefix:	rcl_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Term of lessee's finance lease renewal, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 842
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 3
-Subparagraph (a)(3)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=77888426&loc=SL77918673-209980

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LesseeFinanceLeaseRenewalTerm1
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Term of lessee's finance lease, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LesseeFinanceLeaseTermOfContract1
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LesseeLeaseDescriptionLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Term of lessee's operating lease renewal, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LesseeOperatingLeaseRenewalTerm
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount of variable lease cost, excluded from lease liability, recognized when obligation for payment is incurred for finance and operating leases.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 842
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 4
-Subparagraph (d)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=77888426&loc=SL77918686-209980

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/exampleRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 842
-SubTopic 20
-Section 55
-Paragraph 53
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=77888399&loc=SL77918982-209971

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_VariableLeaseCost
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	srt_ScheduleOfEquityMethodInvestmentEquityMethodInvesteeNameAxis=rcl_PullmanturAndCDFCroisieresDeFranceMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
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- Details

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Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentByTypeAxis=us-gaap_BuildingMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_RangeAxis=srt_MinimumMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentByTypeAxis=rcl_BerthingAgreementMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_RangeAxis=srt_MaximumMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: