Need some tips on Nikon Coolpix L110

[scamperwillow]

I just got the L110. Wanted to step up a bit from my canon powershot A450. I especially wanted more zoom ability. Read tons of reviews on this and comparable cameras and accepted the good deal from Costco which included a free case and 4 gig card.

So far I am pretty unhappy...especially with indoor low light shots. They come out just terrible without flash and mostly too bright with flash. Can anyone advise me on how to get better indoor shots with this camera? It takes beautiful outdoor natural light shots, but I take a lot of pics of friends on vacations and stuff.
Almost returned it, but that is a hassle and don't know what I would get instead for $179. I also don't like that you have to manually lift the flash or else it just takes an underlighted photo. I also don't like that you seem to have to switch the scene mode for almost every shot....is it a portrait or a landscape? etc......

Can anyone offer me some tips and/or encouragement? I am going on a cruise in Italy soon and want to take some great shots.