We did the 5 Star this past May and loved it. For this excursion you board the Leylon Sneed and cruise from St. Thomas to Trunk Bay. Along the way, your hosts give you a bit of history about St. Thomas and the surrounding islands. They will give you instructions on snorkeling (if you need it) and they provide the equipment. Equipment was pretty good. As far as the complimentary drink, you can help yourself to more than one.
As far as the Beach/Snorkel Tour I think it is essentially the same except for the transportation. I believe you take a bus to the ferry and ferry to St. John where you catch another bus to Trunk Bay.
You spend the same amount of time snorkeling (1.5 hours) which we found to be plenty of time for us and our 3 boys to snorkel. HTH
