00:45 Strong Winds in Miami as Irma Approaches The winds pick up as Hurricane Irma moves into Miami.

At a Glance Several cruise ships returned to Miami earlier this week ahead of Hurricane Irma.

Some passengers decided to remain in Miami, but thousands of others with nowhere to go returned to the high seas to wait out the storm.

The ships will remain at sea until the deadly storm clears.

It started out as a lovely vacation for passengers aboard two Norwegian Cruise Line ships, but the vacation soon turned a little sour as Hurricane Irma forced the company and thousands of passengers to return to port and then make a decision.

As Irma began its deadly approach toward the Florida coastline, the ships returned to PortMiami, long before the expected return dates to allow passengers hailing from Florida to get home ahead of the storm.

Once the ships arrived in port, other passengers without confirmed travel plans home found themselves stranded in the predicted path of the deadly storm.

(MORE: Latest on Irma )

That's when the company made a decision to continue the cruise for the passengers stranded in Miami, according to the Associated Press.

About 4,000 passengers re-embarked on the larger of the two ships, the 4,266-passenger Escape, on Thursday and sailed off to calmer waters, where they will remain until Irma passes.

<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/ap17251499061223.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0" srcset="https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/ap17251499061223.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 400w, https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/ap17251499061223.jpg?v=ap&w=980&h=551&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 800w" > Margaret Cunningham, of Battle Ground, Wash., poses aboard the Norwegian Escape cruise ship, shortly before the huge vessel returned to port in Miami, two days early due to Hurricane Irma. Cunningham and her husband, Mike, were staying aboard the ship, which was headed to safe waters that evening. While it was unknown when or where the ship would return due to the powerful storm, Cunningham said she is assured the ship will be a safe and heavily-supplied haven at sea. ( AP Photo/Brian Witte) ( AP Photo/Brian Witte) Norwegian Cruise Line spokeswoman Vanessa Picariello told the AP that the ship is heading west but said no clear direction has been determined. Officials also don't know where the ship will return should damage occur at PortMiami.

“We are being forthcoming with guests that we’re not certain where or when we will be able to return back to port,” Picariello said, adding that the ship may try to make a port of call if it's safe to do so "but if not, guests will enjoy a cruise to nowhere and be able to be safe and out of the storm."

Passengers based in Florida approved the company's decision to return to port ahead of the storm.

"Once they said, 'We’re heading back,' then the mood shifted from vacation time to 'All right, let’s get home and get it taken care of,'" Michael Davis, 42, of St Augustine, Florida, told the AP.

Barbara Engel, 49, was unable to book a flight back to her home in Dallas and decided that returning to the high seas was her best and safest option.

“I’ve got everything here and more than I would want, and we can run” from the storm if necessary, Engel told AP. “So really, all told, I think I’m in the best place I can be at this time.”

(MORE: Hurricane Irma Rumors Debunked: Here's the Truth to Some Confusing Messages On Social Media )

The decision to continue the cruise came after the company and others like it were criticized for returning to port just days before Irma was forecasted to strike , the Los Angeles Times reports.

Carnival Cruise Line spokeswoman Jennifer de la Cruz issued a statement saying that Carnival was “very sensitive to dropping people into a situation where they are going to have difficulty once they are on the ground.”

In response to criticism, Carnival Cruise Lines also has passengers roaming the high seas in a sort of cruise ship limbo, waiting for Irma to clear.

Passenger Natasha Allen and her husband were enjoying a Carnival Cruise Lines excursion to the Bahamas when their trip was cut short.

Allen said she learned too late that she and her husband had the option to return to sea but said they were lucky enough to find a hotel in Miami.

“They should have canceled our cruise in the first place so we could have avoided this or dropped us off somewhere else,” a frustrated Allen told the Los Angeles Times.