Dubai airport shopping
Emirates sent me an email to check in via internet 24 hours prior to flight. This is easy to do online. My seats for both flights were reserved by my travel agent on the side aisle. And I got an extra seat when the guy next to me moved. But still this plane is not meant for sleeping. The seats recline, but no footrest and the seats are too high off the ground, your legs dangle.
The food and service was good, as always. The flight is 14 hours from Melbourne to Dubai. Plenty of time to sleep five or six hours and watch some movies on the excellent entertainment system. Saw 27 Dresses, Wall-e and Get Smart. All of which I had missed in the theatre.
Dubai airport shoppingLong stopover at Dubai Airport. Don't know if Emirates is still offering hotel rooms for long layovers, but they did provide a free meal at the Safar Restaurant near gate 119. There was a long queque for breakfast, and I had already eaten on the plane, so I waited until about 10 o'clock and was served a snack of tea and sandwich and was given a voucher for lunch. I later met a lady from South Africa who also had a long layover from London but her connecting flight left a little earlier than mine and and she was entitled to a snack, only.
When I first arrived in the airport there were people sleeping all over the airport, clustered together in little spaces, they were also lined up for breakfast. I think these must be the workers from Africa who travel to the Middle East to be work. They must have a long connection time. The meal thing is a great idea for them. 
Dubai airport shopping
Dubai airport shopping
Dubai airport shopping
Dubai airport shoppingThere is a Marharaba Lounge near gate 123 where you can pay to stay and have food and access the business facilities, but I think it is best to book ahead with your travel agent. There seems to be a greeting and pick up service. But at the lounge, staff seemed overworked, and I tried to get in, but kept getting pushed aside by "greeters" with their little groups. So I just wandered about taking photos of the airport and the facilities.
If you wanted to rest and eat, the Safar restaurant has a regular restaurant side where you can probably take a table and keep ordering. There are internet kiosks in the center of the terminal hall, which I think are free, but the machines that were working were always taken and you had to stand up to use them. I tried to get wifi connection, but either I couldn't find the hot spot or my laptop has wifi disabled.