Quarterly Selected Financial Data (Unaudited) (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								6 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Sep. 30, 2020	Jun. 30, 2020	Mar. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2019	Mar. 31, 2019	Jun. 30, 2020	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Error Corrections and Prior Period Adjustments Restatement [Line Items]
Total revenues	$ 34,138	$ (33,688)	$ 175,605	$ 2,032,750	$ 2,517,413	$ 3,186,850	$ 2,806,631	$ 2,439,767		$ 2,208,805	$ 10,950,661	$ 9,493,849
Operating (Loss) income	(1,016,549)	(996,114)	(1,282,487)	(1,306,407)	299,425	890,792	573,653	318,831		(4,601,557)	2,082,701	1,894,801
Net (Loss) Income attributable to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.	$ (1,366,935)	$ (1,346,756)	$ (1,639,292)	$ (1,444,479)	$ 273,136	$ 883,240	$ 472,830	$ 249,681		$ (5,797,462)	$ 1,878,887	$ 1,811,042
(Loss) Earnings per share
Basic (in dollars per share)	$ (6.09)	$ (6.29)	$ (7.83)	$ (6.91)	$ 1.31	$ 4.21	$ 2.26	$ 1.19		$ (27.05)	$ 8.97	$ 8.60
Diluted (in dollars per share)	(6.09)	(6.29)	(7.83)	(6.91)	1.30	4.20	2.25	1.19		(27.05)	8.95	8.56
Dividends declared per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0.78	$ 0.78	$ 0.78	$ 0.70	$ 0.70		$ 0.78	$ 2.96	$ 2.60
Onboard and other revenues
Error Corrections and Prior Period Adjustments Restatement [Line Items]
Total revenues										$ 704,236	$ 3,093,604	$ 2,701,133
Onboard and other revenues | Incorrectly Recognized Cancellation Revenue
Error Corrections and Prior Period Adjustments Restatement [Line Items]
Total revenues									$ 67,900