ESCONDIDO, Calif. -- Charges of negligence have been filed against five crewmembers and the captain of a cruise ship that sank near a Greek island last week.

Among the 1,500 on board the ship was an Escondido woman who at times doubted she and her husband would survive.

Nancy Howard said that during her four-day vacation cruise that turned into a sinking ship, she heard screaming, saw pushing and even resigned herself to believing that it was her time to die.

However, thanks to her husband and lifelong experiences, she never gave up hope.

Howard said, “It was just like the movies, the people were yelling, they were screaming; there were people pounding on the inside of the elevators because they were stuck.”

Howard and her husband, Bob, were among 1,500 passengers on board the Greek cruise ship Sea Diamond that sank after hitting underground rocks last Thursday.

“So, I thought I would take my ID, I would take my purse and I thought because they could identify me if I don't make it because the boat was really like this,” said Howard.

With the ship taking on water and passengers packed like cattle, Howard said the evacuation was anything but text book.

She said people were panicking, and as a former lifeguard Howard took off her lifejacket and gave it to someone else.

“The thought went through my head, ‘Should I give her mine?’ I didn't want to at first, but then I thought I have a better chance than she does,” said Howard.

At peace with the possibility of death, Howard started to help others.

“I did tell people how to jump in the water and how to use their pants for flotation. I think it helped me, too,” said Howard.

Her most difficult moment came when the order was given to evacuate the women and children first.

Howard said all she could do was turn around and keep shuffling to the back. She couldn’t bear the idea of leaving her husband of 36 years.

“We've been through too much and I just felt that we've been together through so much. A lot has happened, the good and the bad and we had to go through this together, too,” said Howard.

The Howards said that after the three-hour investigation, they were among the last to leave along with the crew.