We booked this cruise through a voucher for a free cruise for 2 given to my husband from the El Dorado Casino in Shreveport, Louisiana. I selected the Miracle because we have never done that itinerary and we wanted to stay in Los Angeles for a couple of days after the cruise. We flew separately from Dallas to LAX the day of the departure and thankfully all that went smoothly. We found out at the pier that my husband had turned Platinum so embarkation was a breeze. The ship, while clean, was typical, dated Carnival. I quickly missed Guy's Burgers, the Waterworks, big screen, and Blue Iguana. Generally speaking, staff were friendly and appropriately attentive. Our room steward was great. We chose late assigned dining and our waitstaff were very good but that is where I have complaints about Carnival. "Back in the day" a lot of the cruise experience was related to the dining. With the advent of specialty restaurants, the Carnival dining room experience has decreased greatly. The food is ho-hum and I personally don't care for their American Table. As if that isn't enough, you have an option to pay $20 for a "steakhouse selection". If I do that ( never have), where does that steak come from - the steakhouse or where the dining room food is prepared? And what if it's not good? I can't speak for other lines but we have been on 10+ Carnival cruises and have been disappointed by this for at least the last 5 cruises. Why cruise with Carnival? Ours have been "free" (taxes/port charges only) for the last 3+ years. We have never had a " bad" cruise but if I was paying full price I would branch out to another line.
Took a cab from pier to a public beach. Same driver picked us back up. Enjoyed beach time without the expense of an excursion.
Short walk from pier through a fenced area to a beach where, for the purchase of drinks from the hotel bar, we were able to have 2 lounge chairs, table and umbrella on the beach.
We did stay for 2 days after our cruise. Found a guesthouse of a Beverly Hills house to stay in.