Someone on this site might correct me, but isn’t the Cruiser the same one that Ackbar commands in Return Of The Jedi? Having Ackbar stay behind to do the hyperspace ram would have been an epic end to a fan fave, far better than the derisory off screen death he recieved.
Argument that would be fan servicey though - and killing a fan fave out of nowhere raises the stakes that everyone is in danger at any time…