Naples from cruise ship

Hop-on Hop-off does not sound like a good idea in Naples. Traffic is bad and bus-accessed roads are not very interesting, with a few exceptions as always.
The cruise terminal is very central: from there you can just walk to Piazza Plebiscito and explore a little: west to Chiaia, north on Via Toledo towards the Archeological museum or via dei Tribunali (throughfare through the old town), up the Vomero hill by funicular (Castle Sant'Elmo has great views)...

Or you could just stick to Piazza Plebiscito and go to Caffe Gambrinus to try the local delicacies, walk west along via Chiaia, then along the sea back to the cruise terminal with a stop at Castel dell'Ovo perhaps.

Thank you so much! Your comment is very helpful.

The archaeological museum is really strong, but with only one day in town I wouldn't spend the time to walk to it. It's quite some distance from the waterfront, and much of that distance is distinctly uphill. Take public transportation or a taxi. There's a Metro station right at the museum. I'm not sure where the cruise terminal is, so I don't know whether there's a Metro station nearby.

Although you can do a lot of walking in Naples without encountering significant hills, you can also end up having a real workout. A city with funiculars is hilly! Don't attempt to walk to the San Martino Complex, Castel Sant'Elmo or the Capodimonte Museum.

Thank you very much.

Yes, I was only mentioning the Archelogical Museum as a "cardinal direction", not necessarily a walking destination! If you're interested in visiting the museum, it is three stops on metro line 1 from Municipio (near-ish the cruise pier) to Museo.

Naples' cruise pier is amazingly central so you can make the most of it.

If it is offered, an excursion through the cruise line might be something to consider. Most offer some sort of excursion that will give an overview of the city. As someone mentioned, traffic can be terrible at times. If you are on an excursion through the ship, and are late getting back, the ship will wait. Not so if you are on your own. Several times on different cruises (including a stop in Naples) we were stuck in traffic but the ship did wait. On the other hand we've seen people running along the pier as the ship was pulling away.

The Citysightseeing hop-on, hop-off bus stops right at the cruise terminal. If you just want to go to the fabulous Archaeological Museum, you can take the Metro from the nearby Municipio stop to the Museo stop right by the museum. Including the short walk, the whole trip takes about 20 minutes. Don't bother with a cruise excursion--you are in the center of Naples and can get to most sights via Metro or on foot.

Don't bother with a cruise excursion--you are in the center of Naples and can get to most sights via Metro or on foot.

If you are simply going to be on foot and can walk back to the terminal, then yes, skip the cruise excurion. If you are going so far afield that you can't hoof it back in a hurry, then take an excurison to avoid the possibility of being caught in traffic and not getting back in time.