Of course there is a point where you are going to lose your caps in anyway cause you cant kill all the bombers before they kill your cap. Its like having a 100 lrm FF on your cap... no chance of escape.
I like to send in:
1) a scout to see enemy positions
2) all my carriers and support to entry point opp enemy cruisers (he will have a couple)
3) wait 20 secs while running carriers away from planet and cruisers
4) Intercept with caps and cruisers (you should have a bunch) closest to (your own) carriers.