Updated: Tue Jan. 27 2009 11:30:33

CTV.ca News Staff

A cruise ship that spent 24 hours stuck in the ice in the St. Lawrence River has been freed with the help of a Canadian Coast Guard ice breaker.

The CTMA-Vacancier and its more than 300 passengers were en route to a week-long cross-country ski trip in the Chic-Choc mountains. Progress came to a grinding halt on Monday when the ice closed in around the ship near Matane, Que.

Coast Guard media relations officer Nathalie Letendre told CTV.ca that the ship was freed Tuesday and continued towards its destination on Quebec's Gaspe Peninsula.

The CCGS Terry Fox, which was temporarily stuck as it worked to free the ship, moved on to assist other ships trying to navigate through the icy passage, Letendre said. Another Coast Guard ice breaker was also deployed to the area to help.

"It's not unusual. It's normal operations for the winter. That's why we are there," Letendre said. But she added that such heavy ice conditions haven't been seen since 1993.

Earlier, James Gray, a documentary filmmaker stuck on the CTMC-Vacancier, said he was making the best of the situation, as were many other passengers.

"It's a 24-hour party on board," Gray told CTV's Canada AM by phone.

"It's absolutely an incredible experience. I think it's a historic moment to be on a passenger ship stuck in the ice on the St. Lawrence in the middle of winter. It's about -40 Celsius outside right now."

The students weren't the only ones whose plans were derailed by the ice. A ferry, the Camille Marcoux, was stuck in the ice on Sunday but managed to make it to port on Monday morning.

The first phase of the ski trip has been cancelled as a result of the delay. But a spokesperson said the group is still hoping to get to port soon, so the skiers can head to the second leg of the ski trip.

In the meantime, Gray said he is shooting lots of video of the "stunningly beautiful" scene, and hopes to make a documentary about the adventure.

"This morning I was up just to see the sun coming up over the ice. And now there's this fog coming up and there are cracks in the ice right now which are just starting to form and there's this mist coming up and it's backlit by the sun. It's beautiful really," Gray said.