You are correct. DBIx::Class (DBIC) is a little trickier to get up to speed with but it is the way to go; features, community, less fewer limitations, extensions, extensibility. I was a huge Class::DBI (CDBI) fan but I haven't written any code with it in ... like three years or so now.

Update: What molecules said++. Also might peek at KiokuDB. Perl is a banquet!