The notes are in a similar layout, but violin and cello strings are tuned to fifths, where guitar and bass guitar strings are tuned to fourths. The fingering patterns for scales and shapes of arpeggios/cords are going to be frustratingly close but different for anyone jumping into (or out of) the orchestra pit on a whim.

Yes indeed. Sorry if I was unclear in my wording...I meant:

* Fretted cellos would have the same fingering positions as unfretted cellos (frets are placed where the notes are, they don't set where the notes are).

* All parallel-stringed instruments have modular fingering patterns like this (though not exactly the same fingering patterns, if their string interval differs) so this is a good principle to try no matter your instrument.

Learning both guitar and cello is kind of like learning both QWERTY and Dvorak. Same intellectual principle, whole different muscle memory.

As someone who learned the double bass in school, jumping to bass guitar & guitar was super easy cause of the fourth tuning intervals. Anytime I ever jumped on cello, it was a nightmare cause all of the sort of "relationships" between the current note I was playing and other notes were totally different.