TORONTO (AP) – A cruise ship carrying 300 passengers that became lodged in thick ice in the St. Lawrence River for more than 30 hours was freed Tuesday with the help of an ice breaking vessel, officials said.

The CTMA-Vacancier was one of four ships, which together carried about 500 people, that became trapped in ice near Montreal since the weekend but all had been freed as of Tuesday, officials said.

“We’re free now, but it was a lot of fun while it lasted,” said cruise ship passenger James Gray, who said the tour group of skiers ended up having a 24-hour party on board.

“Musicians have been playing guitar, there are poets, people dancing, good food and wine, and we’re surrounded by stunning scenery,” Gray said by phone from the ship.

Leonard Arsenault, a spokesman for the CTMA-Vacancier, said the passengers left Montreal on Sunday for a weeklong trip. But ice quickly closed in around the vessel Monday near Matane, Quebec.

“Because it was so cold and windy, the wind blew ice from Montreal down into the St. Lawrence River at high speeds and it became very thick, which is why the ship became stuck there for so long,” Arsenault said.

Arsenault said there were no injuries.

Gray said the cruise ship got stuck about five miles from Montreal.

“All of a sudden, there was this loud, grinding noise and we knew we were really in a fix,” he said.

In addition to the cruise ship, a passenger ferry, a cargo vessel, and a Canadian Coast Guard ice breaker were trapped in ice for a time but all managed to either free themselves or with the aid of an ice breaker, officials said.