Alaska class as long-range naval presence

How useful would the Alaska class have been in a peacetime cruiser role?

They would have been very useful long-range presence ships, combining cruiser status with enough combat power to influence a regional crisis.

The Alaska class combined long range with enough armament to make the ships valuable instruments of peacetime presence. They could reach distant trouble spots as cruisers while bringing enough combat power to concern local battleships. Their arrival could signal American interest in a crisis without requiring a conventional battleship deployment. In a world that remained at peace for several years after their completion, that diplomatic and deterrent role might have been one of their most valuable uses.