Disney Cruise Line on Monday insisted the care and safety of its crew members was its "highest priority" after facing criticism for leaving nearly 100 of them on an island in the Bahamas as Hurricane Dorian approached, according to USA Today.

“Some of our crew remained on the island and their care and safety is our highest priority. As forecasted, sustained winds on the island did not extend beyond tropical force strength and our crew has returned to their living quarters after spending a few hours in our storm shelter yesterday,” the company said in a statement posted on its website.

“Our thoughts continue to be with the people in areas of The Bahamas that are being impacted by this storm and we stand ready to contribute to recovery efforts,” it added.

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The statement came after a now-deleted pair of tweets from a woman who said her sister was one of 97 employees left on Castaway Cay, the company’s private island, went viral.

"Remember that time [Disney Cruises] left 97 employees on a tiny island in a Catagory 5 hurricane? I do," the woman wrote.

After all crew members were reported safe, Bri Eggers, a meteorologist for KTVB in Boise, Idaho, tweeted: “I'm still interested though - why not just get them off of Castaway Cay? Why have them stay there with the track of Dorian so close? Seems like it would have been better to take the safest precautions and just evacuate?”