I would say that large liners should be a good deal more valuable than big cruisers.
Also, IMHO big cruisers were perhaps the most overrated WWII ships:
-almost as crew-intensive as some old battleships, but much less firepower (for example, 1230 crew for USS Portland vs 1450 crew for USS Idaho)
-On a related note, expose a large number of crew to danger - see the death toll on "Sydney", "Indianapolis", "Haguro" etc.
-Almost no ASW capability
-Poor rate of fire for most 8" guns and some 6"guns (until the "Baltimore" class & other late war ships)
-Not as expendable as destroyers
Pretty telling that destroyers and similar ships have dominated post WWII navies, whereas very few big cruisers have been built.
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