Today we are in Fujairah and we have decided to take a taxi to the Sandy Beach Hotel & Resort.

This is a good place to spend the day if you want a beach and a taxi will cost approx AED 50 (£10) each way,  Entry to the resort is approx AED 40.

Drinks prices: AED 12 for a coke (£2.50) Water AED 6 (£1.20)

So make sure you take full advantage of your day here and negotiate a return taxi or check with reception for availability of cabs back to the ship. It is a 25 minute drive to Sandy Beach resort from the Costa Luminosa's berth.

A note: there are a lot of speed bumps along the main road, which are a pain in the neck, but the roads are excellent and it is a straight drive.

Also note: Taxi's should charge you by the meter. Approx costs are AED 10 every 5 mins. This is a rough guide. If you let the taxi drivers dictate they will try and charge US$35 each way to Sandy Beach..!!

I will publish all details of Sandy Beach online at www.cruisedubai.co.uk soon, this will give you all the information you need for a good day by the beach.

We only spent the morning here before going back to the ship for lunch. After all we have the drinks package and the lunches onboard are good.

Tonight is Arabian theme night onboard and there is a speciality dinner also.

Once again, drinks were ready at the table when we arrived for dinner, and once again - I had no problem with the choice of meals.

There is always available - Spag Bol, Chicken, Jacket Potato's, vegetarian etc for a main course.

A note about dinner: I prefer the late sitting. Why? Because there is no rush to leave the table and we can sit and talk after dinner and finish our wine. We also like to have conversations with the waiters and waitresses and they are very accommodating of my Godson Christian. He is 5 and every evening they bring him pencils and a colouring / games leaflet.

I am going to experience Costa Cruises flagship Samsara Spa facilities this afternoon and will report back on tomorrow's blog.