Hi nadeema-
You are likely to be jet-lagged on your first couiple of days in Switzerland, if your bodies are accustomed to the USA time zone.
A lot of the answers to your questions can be found on links within MySwissAlps.
<<"Do you know whats the difference between a first class pass and regular pass besides the price. ">>
Please look at -
www.myswissalps.com/tr ain
<<"<<"Since this is our first trip to Switzerland, do you think staying in Zurich for a day and sightseeing will be adequate">>
Please look at the links for various cities under "Where to Go" om the home page.
Here is one example:
www.myswissalps.com/zu rich
Once you compare it with other cities, such as Luzern, and regions, such as the Jungfrau Region
www.myswissalps.com/ju ngfrauregion
you will see that Zürich, although a very nice city, does not have many of the scenic attractions that are so wonderful in Switzerland. It's strength is culture.
For first time travelers, we usually don't recommend spending time in Zürich unless they have particular items that they know they want to see or do..
<<"Also whats the best way to get back to Zurich from Lugano to catch our flight back to US?">>">>
By train.
The timetable will give you the fastest route by default:
www.myswissalps.com/ti metable
If you wish to take a more scenic route, put an intermediate station on that route in the "via" box.
Slowpoke