We are 60 year old boomers on their second cruise. First was with Carnival which we did not enjoy at all, but were encouraged by several people to try again with a more high scale line. I chose Celebrity Infinity 14-day Panama Canal cruise for Ft. Lauderdale to San Diego (where we live).
We had a balcony stateroom on Carnival, but decided to save money by getting an inside guarantee on the Infinity. Worked out well as we were upgraded significantly to deck 8. The only real complaint I had about the inside was that I never could tell what time of day it was or what the weather was like. I also did not appreciate the Celebrity "class" system of Concierge balcony staterooms that we were right in the middle of made us feel like we were sailing steerage.
We flew into Ft. Lauderdale a few days early and stayed at a little boutique hotel called the Tropi Rock. Would not recommend this hotel as it is really off the beaten path as far as where shops and restaurants are.